She Who Claims The Chaos
by Kartara
Summary: Natsu is feared by the guild. When he meets Lucy and she dosen't turn away from him and wants to be his friend instead, how will that make him feel? Why is he changing? NaLu. (Originally by primsgirl89 but adopted by me.)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

Lucy grumbled about the prices in this town to herself, angry at how outrageously high they were. She sighed after a few minutes and stopped at a spot that overlooked a few shops and sat on the balustrade.

 _Where should I go now?_ She asked herself.

She's suddenly brought out of her thoughts when she hears a girl yell to her friend, "Hurry up! I heard Salamander is here!"

"Who's Salamander?" Her friend asked.

"Are you kidding me? You don't know who Salamander is? He's a famous mage!" The girl squealed.

That made her interest peak. _Why would a famous mage come to a town like this?_ She thought.

Lucy decided to follow the girl to see Salamander. As soon as she saw him, her heart started to pound, her cheeks began to flush, and she couldn't bring herself to look away. She could only see and think of him. He had her undivided attention. She pushed her way to the front of the crowd. He smirked and gave her a wink. She suddenly got butterflies in her stomach. Barely containing her squeal, she set her hand over her heart out of reflex.

 _Is this love?_ Lucy asked herself. She decided that it was, and she was going to stay with him forever. Then she saw his hand, which held a ring, and the feeling stopped when she realised that the ring was some ring charm.

 _This is guy using a love charm!_ I walked to the back of the group and noticed a male shove his way to the front with a flying blue cat. _This could be interesting._

The next few minutes later the "Salamander" was enjoying the attention until she hissed through clenched teeth, "Using charms to get attention? Pathetic."

Salamnder didn't like that one bit.

"Not only is it pathetic, it's also pretty damn low," The man next to her responded in a bored voice. His voice was smooth and deep. He pulled his hood down, showing his salmon hair. His skin was a good tan. His eyes are what caught her attention the most, though. His eyes were so void of emotion other than hatred and annoyance. His dark eyes caught hers and she mouthed her plan. He nodded.

"Get him to take off those rings. I will get some soldiers."

She ran off, but there was a hot flame following her. She ran faster, ignoring the gasp of surprise. She came back with the soldiers five minutes later. She saw the salmon haired boy sitting on the beat-up "Salamander". He got up and walked away without his cat. She grabbed the cat and walked close behind him. He didn't say anything, but he did slow down.

A few hours later of walking, they camped out. The blonde woman began to cook food while whispering her new celestial magic spells to herself. The salmon-haired boy looked more annoyed when the cat woke up. The cat rubs its sleepy eyes as he paused and looked up at her with curious big eyes.

"Hey, Natsu?" The male beside her grunted but gave no other sign that he was listening. "Who's the blonde?"

She looked at the cat and flicked its nose playfully with two fingers. Natsu never answered the cat so she decided to answer. "I'm Lucy. This idiot basically left you where you were, so I picked you up and tagged along. He doesn't seem to mind, though. Who are you guys? Where are you from? Are you in a guild? If so, what guild?" She asked question after question.

The cat seemed to be the talker in the relationship. "I am Happy and this," he pointed to the salmon haired boy, "is Natsu. We live in Magnolia. We are mages of Fairy Tail, and it looks like you are coming with us." As he finished, Natsu nodded as Happy smiled, living up to his namesake. She just nodded and fell asleep while snuggling Happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

The salmon-haired boy, now known as Natsu, looked more annoyed when the cat was up. The cat rubs its sleepy eyes as he paused and looked up at Lucy with the same curious big eyes as the night before.

"Hey, Natsu?" The man beside her grunted but gave no other sign that he was listening. "Why is Lucy with us again?"

She looked at the cat and booped its nose. Natsu never answered the cat so she decided to answer. "I'm Lucy. Aki—can I call you Aki?—basically left you where you were, so I picked you up and tagged along. He didn't seem to mind, though. Though I don't understand what his deal with communication is? It's rather rude, if you ask me," She finished with a glare to Natsu after introduction. Happy looked a bit nervous as it happened. He looked over to Natsu to see amusement in his eyes. _What's got him so amused?_

Crossing her arms, she huffed and looked away. _I would rather him have those eyes that have the emotion they had when we were in the other town... Wait, I FORGOT MY STUFF!_

She plopped down in defeat. Ever since she ran away from her father, she has been more accepting to horrible situations. She always tries to make the best out of everything. _Honestly, I really want to meet the famous Chaos just to see how they react when people see him and want to be their friend. Although, now that I met these two, I really want to be around them more. They don't seem to have many friends. They also seem really lonely. It's in their eyes, the slightest hint of lonesomeness._ She looked to Happy and Natsu, and what she saw made her confused.

The cat looked at Natsu like he was some stranger he met for the very first time. Natsu ignored his stare, but he did growl lowly. The cat shook his head and answered her questions in a shaky voice. "Aye... We are from Magnolia. We are in Fairy Tail—"

"Can you guys take me there?" Happy was about to answer when Natsu seemed to have grunted, making the attention go to him. When he was sure he had our attention, he spoke.

"Woman." A sigh escaped her lips. She went to scold him to use her name but he spoke before she even opened her mouth. "You're coming with us."

Happy looked at Natsu and her in shock and awe. He soon shrugged as he snuggled up close to her and they both fell asleep.

She felt something gently stroke her face sometime later. She opened her eye to see who it was. No one was there but Natsu, who was across the fire from her, asleep, and Happy, who was laying on her stomach. _Eh… I am just going back to sleep._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

When Lucy woke up, she was the only one awake at the time. Deciding to make breakfast, she found some fish and some herbs nearby and began to cook. It took her a half an hour to make breakfast big enough for at least six people. Happy woke up as soon as it was finished.

"I'm going to wake him up. Save three for him and one for me," The blonde woman told him once he became alert.

Happy looked fearful for a bit but nodded and let her walk over to Natsu and wake him up. She braced herself for the probable punch or scream she'd get for trying to wake him up, but she didn't expect for Natsu to pull her down and start to cuddle. She tried to get out of his grasp but he only held on tighter.

Suddenly, getting an idea, she began to poke his nose. She poked his whole face until he growled, obviously annoyed. Finally, she got tired of it and said what she thought would freak him out. "If you don't get up, I will make you wear my clothes and makeup. Then you will get no food."

As soon as that was said, he let go and sat up. He gave her his deadliest glare, but she made no sign that shows she was phased. Turns out Happy only ate half of his fish because he liked his raw or in a stew.

She offered to finish his breakfast and Natsu ate the rest. When they finished, they walked to the Fairy Tail guildhall. Once there, they walked up to the guild doors. Nervousness began to bubble inside her as she looked at Natsu, only to see him walk away. She ran up to him, grabbing his hand before pulling him in the guild with her and Happy. He didn't even fight back; he just let her take him.

Once in, Happy went to the bar to get the guild master. The guild members froze when they saw Natsu, but when they saw his blonde companion, they began to crowd. She was never good with large groups so she became scared and hid behind Natsu, whimpering. She didn't expect him to growl or for the guild to back away in fear. She whacked Natsu upside the head.

Natsu turned to her, his eyes full of hurt and shame, but at the same time, the annoyance and hatred in them didn't go away. He stepped closer to her.

"Don't kill the girl!"

"Spare her!"

"We must save her!"

He was close to her neck as he sniffed and ordered a silver-haired woman to put the mark on her hand. She stuttered before she placed it on her hand. "Make it pink," He growled out his order.

Nodding, she did what he asked, then ran back behind the bar. _I doubt that was the master._ That's when she saw a small, grey-haired old man on top of the bar, sighing in frustration.

"Natsu-kun?" He asked in annoyance but looked at her. She smiled a bright smile at him. Natsu nodded to confirm his presence before he jumped up to the rafters. Soon, everyone overheard snoring.

Once he was gone, everyone started to pester her with questions.

"How come he isn't violent to you?" Levy asked her. Her brown eyes were curious and scared. Lucy shrugged and told them about the encounter and the trip.

"When she was asleep, he smiled at her!" Happy stated. She looked at him, confused. _Did that really happen?_

He looked back at her with pride. "My mom is great!"

She smiled and hugged the cat. He nuzzled close to her chest and soon fell asleep. _He is a bit clingy and needy but I love him. He is like a son to me...in his own way,_ she thought happily to herself.

When everyone left her to herself, she sat at a vacant table and slowly began to feel at ease while rocking Happy gently in her arms. She started to fall asleep when she suddenly felt someone near her. She felt her body become stiff.

 _Just who exactly is next to me?_

Soon, she felt a familiar warm body pressed up against her and slowly relaxed as the realisation of who it was came to her. She inched closer to Natsu—who she knew was right next to her—and fell deeper into her half-asleep state.

"I will protect you...woman." She heard him say, then she let out an aggravated sigh and he a soft laugh. He knew she wouldn't remember this, though she still wanted to for future cases.

"Thanks, and stop glaring at your family." She felt him stiffen but also nod. That's when she fell asleep. She knew he fell asleep with her, his head falling on hers. Everyone went back to talking, but this time lowly so as to not wake them. _I really need to find an apartment or something._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

Lucy woke up in the guild feeling stiff and cold. Nobody was next to her, save for Happy and Natsu; the two sitting across from her. Happy was asleep on the table, his breathing a bit uneven. She picked the cat up and placed him on her lap. His breathing became slightly more smooth and steady as she lightly scratched his head. Surmising that he was having a nightmare, she tried to calm him down. She hummed a sweet lullaby that her mother used to sing to her when she had a nightmare.

Natsu started getting up from his spot. _Wasn't he next to me when I fell asleep? Or was that a dream? Oh well, maybe the guild will tell me later._

He jumped up to the rafters again as people began to pile in. Looking around at everyone, she noticed they looked back at her with shock and fear. _Why fear? What happened?_

Levy came up to her, her wavy blue hair bouncing with every step. Lucy couldn't help but let her gaze wander as she tried to figure out what everyone was so afraid about.

Levy cleared her throat, causing her to change her attention to her. "Where's Dragneel?"

She put on a thoughtful expression that made her look deep in thought when she looked up at the rafters. Natsu shook his head no, meaning she shouldn't tell Levy his whereabouts. "Who?"

She looked at like her like she was crazy. "Um, N-Nat-" She shut up before directing her gaze to the floor. Guessing by the fidgeting of her hands, they didn't usually call Natsu by his first name.

"Oh, you mean Natsu." When Lucy saw the blue-haired woman nod, she looked up, making it seem like she was thinking, when in all actuality, she was wordlessly asking for Natsu's permission to share his whereabouts. He shook his head once more.

"I don't know, Levy. I woke up by myself and Happy. Why do you ask?" She asked her friend kindly.

"That's odd… He's usually in the rafters. He never comes in the guild for the heck of it. Anyway, every time someone came near you, he would growl and make the person back off. I was worried," Levy explained with a concerned gleam in her eye.

"Oh, did you hear about that guild? The one who threatened to attack us?" Someone asked, clearing trying to pass on gossip.

"Oh, I know the one you're talking about! Phantom Lord, right? They were bound to get disbanded, what with all the shady things they were doing. They had it coming," Another person replied.

She winced at the familiar name.

 _I remember that guild. My father would send me there to be a punching bag for their target practice if I ever got out of hand. That was… until some other guild disbanded them._ She began to visibly shudder, feeling sick to her stomach. She suddenly felt Natsu by her side in an instant. She couldn't do anything but tremble. She focused on the warmth emanating from Natsu, and soon she was well enough to move and think properly. She straightened as she looked at the crowd that gathered in concern and smiled.

"Sorry about that. Sometimes I get pain in my side," She lied. Lucy didn't want to focus on it anymore, so she asked around about looking for an apartment to live in. It took all day but she finally found one that was only 70,000 jewels a month. The whole guild, minus Natsu, helped her get settled. They even had a small party in celebration for her new place at the guild.

The whole day, her mind was full of memories of Phantom Lord and her father. It felt as though she was being watched and followed whenever she was alone. Out of anxiety, she stuck with Erza, Mirajane, Levy, Lisanna, Grey, and Happy, but the feeling still wouldn't go away. She gave up and went to bed, hoping for even a wink of sleep.

She was only asleep for a few hours before she was shaken awake by a person. The Fairy Tail wizard looked sluggishly at the person who woke her, trying to get herself out of her half-asleep state. She suddenly screeched as she grasped who it was and gave the man a _Lucy Kick_ , one of her special moves. She heard that familiar voice a million times before. She would never, _ever_ forget _that_ voice.

The voice of her father.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

Lucy's father looked as though he had been dragged through hell and back. His normally clean and straight hair were now dirty and unkempt. His clothes, that were usually the latest fashion, were now battered and hobo-like. He used to have only a tidy moustache, but now he had a beard that was at least four inches long.

He was sneaking through her house as she could see from how everything was everywhere and in disarray. She gave him her best glare but he hardly flinched.

"Where is your money?" He rasped. That's what he wanted after waking her up, after all those years of saying she was useless. Before she could even begin yelling, her father was slammed into the wall. She looked to see who had done it only to see Happy. He must've spent the night at her house and was woken up as well.

"You know, there is a lesson most have already learned, Father." Happy looked up in confusion then he glared at her as well. _I will talk to him about that later._

"And what might that pathetic lesson be?" He asked as he rubbed his jaw. The blonde woman laughed spitefully.

"Money can't give you true happiness. Not the happiness _you_ believed it can. Yes, it gives you food, clothes, water, and shelter that can be some happiness, but I am talking about love and having a family. Money can't buy you that kind of happiness."

"Who needs something like that? I pushed my own family aside just to gain the money and fame I had before. I have no use for pathetic things like that." He was soon kicked out of her house with her and Happy's famous _Flying Lucy Kick_.

She fell to the floor and began to sob. _He doesn't deserve to know the pain he put me through just now._ She felt something warm and soft pat her leg as Happy looked up with sad eyes.

"Lushy?" She hummed to let him know she was listening. "He was the owner of the _Hearfillia Railroads_ , wasn't he?" She nodded. She knew why he glared now.

"I had absolutely no control of what happened." Soon after, we began to clean the mess her father made. Eventually Happy fell asleep on her lap as she was stroking him. We stayed like that for the rest of the night.

When it was seven, she woke up and took a shower before she dressed in a pink and black sundress. Happy said she should wear blue flats, so me, not caring if I was colour-coordinated or not, nodded and did as he suggested. Happy even knew how to put her hair into pigtails.

They walked to the guild to see that a few Phantom Lord members had lined up at the guild hall doors. Sighing as she put Happy on her head so she could open the doors and let them come in, she walked behind the bar stand and sat herself on a stool to begin to write what they were saying.

"We want to transfer to this Guild instead staying in our own," A girl with pretty ocean-blue hair and eyes said. She had oddly pale skin and her friend was covered in piercings. His long hair reached his lower back and his red eye was filled with exasperation and hope.

Lucy smiled and nodded. "Magic affiliation, please, and I will talk to my master. I know our guilds haven't been on best terms, but I hope we can be good friends. Also, could you tell us why you want to join Fairy Tail?"

Happy began to write their answers as they stiffened when Natsu came in. "Natsu, can you sit down and help Happy and me with this?"

A grunt and glare were tossed at the two, but one look at her face and he seemed to soften. Soon, the two former Phantom Lord members became Fairy Tail members. Everyone respected them. Master had promoted the three to be the future paperwork crew, should Mirajane not be present.

Happy and Natsu both glared at the blonde Fairy Tail wizard as she smiled at them and their master. "Sweet! We'll be partners for this as well as mission partners!"

The other two smiled softly and nodded. "I'm all fired up," Natsu responded with a tinge of happiness and the slightest flicker of a smile before the guild went eerily quiet.

"What? It's like you never heard his voice," She hissed at them, annoyed. Everyone looked away and avoided her gaze. She helped Mirajane serve the guild before Natsu and she did paper work for Master Makarov, Happy staying either on Natsu's or her head as they worked.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

A few months had passed and everyone was happy about the changes taking change within the guild. Natsu and Happy made Lucy move into Fairy Hills, which she lived in for a week before she packed her things and moved back to her apartment. The landlady happily allowed her back, glad to have a consistent patron rent her apartments once again. The guild itself had no financial issues whatsoever thanks to Natsu, Happy and her.

Juvia and Grey were being teased of their love because Juvia is always stalking him, so he tries to ignore her completely. Lucy was apparently the "Tamer of Dragneel," or so she was called in the guild. Outside of it, she's known as the Star Maiden. She had no idea how she got that one.

Natsu, Gray, Erza, Happy and she soon became the strongest team, and because of that, the blonde kept hearing about this girl named Lisanna. She was supposedly Natsu's intended, and albeit Lucy didn't like that, she shrugged it off.

Natsu had left for a job a week ago, so she wasn't able to ask him if this was true. It was a year quest, and she knew she was going to miss him. She already did.

Unfortunately, today everyone found out that she was of the Heartfilia bloodline. Thankfully, they just smiled and waved it off.

"Why are you acting like I told you a bad joke?" She asked as she looked around at everyone.

"Because you are Lucy of Fairy Tail," A bored, familiar voice rang through. She looked up and saw his scarf. _Natsu's back!_

Everyone began to panic at the sight of him.

"What are you doing up there?" She asked, but before he could answer, she asked something else. "So, you _do_ know my name! Why do you call me woman, then?!"

"Isn't that what you are?" He retorted back apathetically.

She glared at him and made him flinch. That never happened before, guessing from the way everyone was quiet for some time. Then she heard harsh laughing.

"What's the blonde bimbo doing here?" A guy with blonde hair, stormy-grey eyes, and a lightning shaped scar on his right eye was staring down at her from on top of the railing on the second floor. "Oh, looky here, it's a princess. You're not welcomed here, Blondie."

She growled along with Natsu and Happy. The others seemed to be scared of him, gazing upon her with looks of utter horror and worry.

"Looks like I'm not the only blonde bimbo. What are you doing here, Sparky?" She retorted maliciously back, her eyes slanted in anger.

He smirked and shot down in front of her, quick as lightning. She tried not to show no emotion. He threw a punch but before it could come in contact with her, two things happened; first, she punched him with a fire-engulfed fist that was enhanced by lightning crackling around it, and second, soon after, Natsu was pushing her away from the enraged blonde.

She noticed a red dragon tattoo start to form on her left leg. Levy began to examine it, ignoring what was going on around her; mainly Natsu grunting to try to get her away from Lucy and everyone gasping at her audacity at punching Sparky.

Then everything started to gradually turn dim and she blacked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

It was dark for Lucy. Where it's dark, it's naturally cold, right? Not where she was. It's blazing _hot_. She looked around, hoping to find something that could help her get away from this raging heat. She only moved a few feet from where she was, one hand on her keys and the other on her whip, when she suddenly saw a soft purple glow. She felt herself being involuntarily drawn to it. She kept her weary glare and as she moved closer, the glow turned red, and she felt her surroundings become even hotter.

"Whose there?" She called out. She listened for a reply as well for any sign of movement. "I don't want to start a fight but I will if you don't answer."

A deep, baritone laugh sounded through the darkness. It sounded ancient but youthfully amused. When she looked to see if someone was nearby, she was startled to find amber eyes watching her. There was a fire in those eyes. Eyes that she could recognize as an eerily-familiar another person's.

"Would you really be willing to challenge the Fire Dragon King, Princess of the Stars?" The deep voice asked humorously.

"If I am forced in order keep myself safe to return home, then yes." She looked straight into the eyes of the dragon. Two things hit her at once; the first being that this must be Natsu's dragon parent—though, admittedly, she had never seen him before—and the second was wondering why he called her the Princess of the stars. She had heard of it before, but where, she could not say. She just knew she had because her body reacted to the name as if it owned it.

As if somehow reading her mind, the dragon shook his head. "You think way too much, just like my mate, Grandina, the sky dragon. Yes, you are the Princess of the Stars. I can't tell you more than that, but in order for you to have the power, I need to take your keys. Once your keys are in my possession, you are to be bound to Natsu Dragneel, the Fire Dragon Slayer."

She looked at the dragon with a look of distress. "Can I at least get a choice on what to do with my keys? I do not want to part with them..." She held her keys close to her as she nuzzled them to her cheek. "They are my nakama and a part of me. If I could take all the Gate keys in the world to ensure that they wouldn't ever be hurt again by their owners, I would find a way to keep them all safe." She smiled at her keys sadly. "They all deserve a better life."

When she stopped talking, she heard some held back sobs that sounded like muffled hiccups. She looked up at the dragon and saw he was holding back tears. _Was he moved by my speech?_

She held up a golden gate key, the one that could call upon Aquarius, and forced her magic power into it. _I know now what I must do, and I think I know how to do it._

As the key was about to break, she closed her eyes and fought back tears and sensed that Aquarius was okay with what she was about to do. _She and I know we will miss each other._

"OPEN, GATE OF THE CELESTIAL KING!" With a flash of golden light, she saw Stash Face standing there with a huge smile. The Dragon and he looked at each other and smiled.

"Old friend, I see you have remembered what I said about the Star Princess," The Celestial King noted.

The dragon nodded. "Indeed. She and my boy will be bound to one another after this meeting, though I would hate to change the memories of her and everyone who knew of her power with celestial spirits. Her power will hereby be the golden flames that ignite from her pure heart. Her flames will also have lightning to represent her fierce determination to protect what she loves. Are we in agreement?"

"Yes, old friend."

After a long moment of silence, she decided to speak up for the first time since summoning the king. It had taken a huge toll on her body, clearly visible whem she was panting and leaning on her hands and knees.

"I would like to have all celestial spirits become human or animal, whichever they choose. That way, they can live their own lives and not worry about having to be ordered around by new masters."

The King looked at her and smiled widely. After an audible snap, all her keys broke and she felt the rest of the celestial keys break as well by the feeling of a huge weight lifting form her shoulders. _How could I feel those other keys break?_

"Bye, Stash Face! Thanks for my last wish. See you around," She said her goodbyes optimistically but knew the sad truth. _I am never going to see him again._

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand pull her towards a pink and gold light as she was hauled into strong arms.

"Sorry, but you can't remember this encounter," The deep voice echoed.

When she subconsciously drifted away from the darkness, she was blinded by a light and rendered momentarily deaf by the sounds reaching her ears. Opening her eyes and putting the back of her hand to her forehead as if she had a fever, she sat up and saw Natsu looking worried but quickly relieved as he gazed at her. That look disappeared and replaced with annoyance. " _Tch_!"

"Are you okay? What happened?" Levy asked. Lucy looked at her, confused but curious. _What_ did _happen?_

"I don't know, albeit I need to know something about the Princess of the Stars." Beside her Natsu stiffened as his body heat rose. His cheeks looked as if they were brushed pink.

"Are you okay, Aki?" He nodded and left before Levy began to tell her what happened before she blacked out. _Huh, I guess I showed off my magic…?_


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

 **Former Authoress' Notes: Hey guys! Thanks for reading my work! It means a lot! I was just recently notified that my work is similar to Lyonsgirl's story of "Calming the Chaos", I had sent a message notifying Lyonsgirl about it and apologized for that. Anyway, she said it was fine. Also I have been getting some help with my newer chapter. *smiles* give a round of applause to FairyTailsBookworm! *claps with everyone who cares* now those of you who want to read the story here you go...oh and I have no hard feelings for Lisanna, sorry for Lisanna fans for making her a b****** girl...**

"'It keeps coming back to me. I remember this pain. It's a hot burning fire.

It can't be put out.

I can only ignore it.

I met you and it disappeared.

You became my pain reliever.

You became my solution for a safer life,'" Lucy cited a favourite poem of hers, looking at everyone in the guild as she sang a song for them. After she did, she explained her magic was Celestial Fire; a magic that was created by her love of celestial spirits that are supposed to be a myth. Her mother had taught her to do a form of fire magic, but instead of teaching her the way Natsu was taught, she read a book called _Fire Dragon Slaying Magic_ and taught her with the lessons provided within the book, albeit something went wrong because stars and fire would shoot out every time she did a spell. So, they called it Celestial Fire.

"Though there are times where it hits me hard and knocks me down.

When it does you let me lean on you as you help take away the pain.

The pain is like a wild fire in one place." She told them about her father and how he would beat her. How, when she was old enough to live on her own, she told him only one person ever protected her from him; that person being her mother. She told them of all the hard work her father pushed her way.

"Where it goes destroys and kills,

So, it can never be put back together." She told them of her wealth and how it only ever did more bad than it did good when she was a child, almost getting kidnapped too many times to count.

"Then I met you and everything felt so much better." At this point, she looked at everyone who was in the guild once more.

"Now every hug makes it so I don't hurt.

So, I don't burn.

So, from now on I'm going to fight the pain with you.

The pain will forever be with me,

So, we fight it together.

For as long as we have the other.

The permanent burn marks will be the only other reminder of what was.

We won't cover those up because it a reminder.

A reminder of our progress." She sung that to the whole guild since they were now her family, then she walked over to Natsu and Happy and hugged them tighter.

"We are a team.

You are my pain reliever.

I am your sidekick.

I'm the forever victim of the pain." If anyone was shocked, it was Happy, because he had never seen Natsu blush at all. Suddenly, the good atmosphere changed to a spooky one as the doors burst open, revealing a girl who looked like Mirajane, but her hair was super short and only went down to her neck.

"Who is that blonde bimbo?" She came closer to the trio and saw that Lucy was hugging Natsu and Happy and glared at her.

"Stay away from him, you slut!" The girl then lunged toward her, intent on attacking the blonde wizard.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

The girl who attempted to attack Lucy was suddenly put into a suspended state in the air, her face contorted with pain. Fire was circling and scorching her wrists and ankles. She was soon screaming in agony. Looking at the poor girl, Lucy saw her hands were covered in her celestial fire and that her ankles were held by Natsu's fire.

"Aki, we are going to put her down now," The blonde wizard ordered quietly as Natsu scowled in response. "Now." He huffed and gave her a mean look that made everyone back away and rendered the unfortunate girl in their flames mute. To show she meant it, the Celestial-Fire Wielding Wizard cooled her flames down so the girl wouldn't get hurt. "Please, Aki..."

He paused for a moment before sighing and letting her ankles go. Lucy did the same with her wrists.

"Damn slut…" The girl hissed under her breath, her eyes blazing with hatred. Before Lucy could do anything, Natsu kicked her in the ribs. She groaned as the blonde wizard glared at Natsu.

Natsu was glaring at the girl until he saw Lucy's glare and flinched.

"How…?" The girl began but trailed off, confusion creeping into her voice. Her eyes then lit up with a newfound hatred. "YOU BRAINWASHED HIM!"

She went to attack her again, but a magic circle suddenly appeared in front of her. "ANIMAL SOUL: TIGRESS!"

"CELESTIAL FIRE ROAR!" Lucy roared back, spurting flames and stars straight towards her. She went down for a while. "Who is she?"

"My sister, Lisanna. She proclaimed herself to be Dragneel's intended," Mirajane quietly explained, concern showing on her face as she looked down at her injured sibling. She gave Lucy a remorseful look on her sister's behalf.

 _Oh… so this is the girl I didn't feel right about Natsu being together with._

"I mean if both were willing to do it, why shouldn't they be together?" The blonde wizard asked like the answer was obvious, trying her best to keep her voice void of any emotion. In all honesty, she didn't want to know the answer.

No one answered that at all. They all just looked away until Lisanna got back up. They all looked at her with annoyed glances. She could feel the whole guild filling up with some deep tension.

She looked at Lisanna to see her running at her again. Lucy lifted her fist up and ran at her, too.

"CELESTIAL FIRE FIST!" Her hands suddenly had gold flames with stars spinning around it. She threw my punch at her, purposely missing to get her point across. "Do you know what it means to be a friend? Or even a lover?"

She looked annoyed, but really confused. "It's obvious, right? One must get whatever they want. And that one person is me. I'm the glue that keeps Fairy Tail together!"

"CELTAIL FIRE SECRET ART: FLAMING DRAGON KING KICK!" Lucy's leg was suddenly covered in deadly-looking stars and flames. As she was about to kick her, the flames turned white as the stars turned red. The kick hit her mid-section. "THAT IS NOT WHAT A FRIEND OR A LOVER IS! To be a friend or a lover you must give and take equally. You're there for them as they are there for you. You know you're loved and cared for by them. You feel safe. You make them feel the same. They help you when it's needed and you help them when they need it."

She just rolled her eyes at me and snarled. Apparently Natsu had enough and kicked her again.

"I don't love you! You annoy me!" He kicked her more. "You think you make everyone happy just by being here. Think again. Do you see them happy?"

She looked around weakly as he stopped kicking her. Everyone gave either a disappointed, annoyed, or sad look. "You think you're the centre of attention. Everyone is always there for you, but you're never there for _them_."

Her eyes began to tear up. Then she looked at the blonde wizard with rage. "YOU BRAINWASHED THEM ALL! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Before that happened, the guild doors opened to show twelve people standing in the doorway.

"The Zodiac are back~" A male with orange hair said in a purr-like way. I looked at all of them and realized they were my family. She ran towards them and hugged each and every one of her family.

"I missed you guys! Even you, Aquarius!" She received hugs from everyone. "Papa said you all died in a fire."

"Well, we didn't. Also, our uncle is here, too." A huge figure stood in the doorway.

"Uncle Stash Face!" She giggled and told the guild of us being family members. They were her distant cousins, uncles, and aunts on her mother's side. Stash Face was her mother's brother. After getting reacquainted with everyone, they all focused on Lisanna, who suddenly turned quiet at this tear-jerking exchange. She hadn't even moved an inch since her family walked in.

"I want to be your friend," Lucy said bluntly.

"Why?" She then looked fearful. "You already have everything I want, so why take me?"

Natsu then hugged Lucy from behind and placed his nose in the crook of her neck. It's his way of calming down.

She had asked him once why he did it and he said it's because she let him and she smelt like strawberries and cream. _That's his relaxing scent,_ She guessed.

"Because I want everyone to have a chance at friendship." As she reached her hand out to grab hers, Lisanna slapped her cheek so hard it forced her to pass out.

What happened next, she didn't know. All she _did_ know was that, for now, no one would tell her what happened.

Reviser's Notes: Okay, if any of you are confused as to why all the Zodiac are now her family, keep in mind that Natsu's Dragon Parent and Stash Face had to remove all recollection of her spirits from her memory, but still wanted her to have a connection with them. My guess is that their solution was to take all the celestial power away from the spirits, give it to Lucy to fuel her fire, and make the spirits mortal. The Zodiac, naturally, became her distant relatives from her mother's side.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

 _Ugh...my head..._ Lucy thought as she came back to the land of the living, as her mother would say. She already knew that her memory came back to her.

 _So, Mirajane's sister, Lisanna, thought that I brainwashed her friends and family? I have no idea why… I wasn't really focused on why as more as I was on how to get her to be a friend to me. I already know she was a kind person, though a tad bit possessive of Natsu. She probably thought I liked him. I'm not going to deny it, I'm beginning to feel something… I just don't think it's going to last,_ She thought silently to herself as she recapped what had happened inside her head.

Natsu was the first real boy she had had any interaction with, other than her own father…albeit, admittedly, he's not the best person to compare to anything. Last she heard, he had recently passed away from a heart attack a few days ago. _Which reminds me, I need to go to the mansion to get a few things! Maybe I'll let the guild decide if they want anything._

*BOOM*

She jumped so high that she was forced to open her eyes. She saw a bright flash and the soft sound of electricity and felt her body begin to sweat. Her already-wide eyes went wider, if that was even possible.

She began to scream and thrash around on the floor. She was looking for a place to hide from the storm. Storms made her really sad and scared, for some reason. The pain that came from it was that she couldn't help those friends. That's what made her run and hide.

"Then why don't you think of it bringing loud music and bright lights to a dance?" Cana asked.

 _Why did she say that? Did she read my mind?_

"No, we aren't. You're saying it out loud," Natsu corrected her.

 _Huh. My bad._

"Sorry..." She squeaked. The storm went on for a few moments longer.

After she was well enough to comprehend, they filled her in on what was happening. Today, they were supposed to be setting up for the Fantasia Parade. Everyone in Fairy Tail was participating in it.

"Listen up, brats! We need someone to try and get Dragneel to go to the parade! Any volunteers?" Master asked with Mirajane and Erza standing beside him.

A couple of people raised their hands. People like Grey and Gajeel. After a couple minutes, another hand came up. That hand being Elfman.

"Why try to get him to do something he clearly doesn't want to do? Sure, I would like to see him have fun with the rest of us, but you all clearly don't even want him there. I'll talk to Happy and see if Aki has plans on participating," Lucy said brusquely. Everyone looked shocked.

The master cleared his throat gaining her attention. She rolled her eyes and saw Natsu smiling a little on top of the rafters. She smiled back and winked at him. He just scowled at her in response before letting himself give her a full-on grin. That grin made her cheeks heat up. She was quick to clear her blush.

"Why do you call him Aki?"

"Because it means fall. Fall is warm, but it can be really cold. It's full of new life, but also a beautiful death. The reason why the death is beautiful is because when spring comes back and gives all the life back, it gives a breath of fresh air and new beginnings. I believe Aki is my Autumn."

"I think you should call him Haru instead because it seems that you think he is warm, but cold and full of new beginnings; just like spring. Haru is Japanese for spring, you know," Mirajane offered as the other people nodded in agreement.

Another throat clearing from Master brought her attention to him. "I want you to stay away from Dragneel, Lucy."

She froze. _Why? Why take away my new beginning?!_

Apparently, everyone else didn't expect that because they all gasped.

Natsu then jumped down from his rafter and glared at master in a rage she had never seen before.

"And why the hell don't you want her being around me?" He growled as he came closer to me and held me possessively to him.

"Because of what you did to Lisanna! She didn't deserve to be almost killed! I believe this is the hardest thing I have had to do yet. I want all my kids to be happy, but if the only other thing, other than Happy, that makes you happy is to hurt your own family, then I have no other choice for the sake of the guild."

Natsu was now in flames, Lucy following suit beside him.

"Not only that, but you might hurt her as well or worse kill her. You may have tainted her innocent soul," Master accused him taciturnly.

 _That's it!_

"CELESTIAL FIRES DRAGON ROAR! ***** " Stars and very hot flames attacked the Master.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" Natsu picked her up as he thrust his other fist out. Her attack had just hit its target when Natsu's followed it up. Soon, she couldn't hold her tears back anymore as she cried into Natsu's chest.

As the area was full of smoke, Natsu flew the two out of the guild with Happy hot on their trail.

A few hours later, they were in a meadow of dead weeds and plants.

She looked up and saw she wasn't the only one crying. Both Happy and Natsu had begun to cry softly. She picked Happy up and placed him in her lap, picking one of Natsu's hands before setting it on his head. One of hers was set protectively on Happy's back. She then wrapped Natsu in a hug with her other arm. She felt both cry harder but, at the same time, tense up.

She knew they didn't get much physical attention from others so it's new to them. They all cried until there were no tears left to cry.

"Mom... sing a song, _please_ ," Happy pleaded with her.

She nodded and quickly thought of a song to sing. "My mom sang and taught me this song** when she was sick. She had written it beforehand."

She took a calming breath and began to sing softly.

"Underneath the echoes,

Buried in the shadows,

There you were,

Drawn into your mystery,

I was just beginning,

To see your ghost,

But you must know," I saw both Natsu and Happy relax. As they began to lay all of us down so we could lay down together."

I looked over at Happy as I sang this part.

"I'll be here waiting,

Hoping, praying that,

This light will guide you home,

When you're feeling lost I'll leave my love,

Hidden in the sun,

For when the darkness comes," he was dozing off. Now I just sang to Natsu making eye contact with him.

"Now the door is open,

The world I knew is broken,

There's no return,

Now my heart is not scared,

Just knowing that you're out there,

Watching me,

So believe," his eyes widened. He held Happy and I closer.

"I'll be here waiting,

Hoping, praying that,

This light will guide you home,

When you're feeling lost I'll leave my love,

Hidden in the sun,

For when the darkness comes,

Oh oh oh,

For when the darkness comes,

Be here waiting,

Hoping, praying that,

This light will guide you home,

When you're feeling lost I'll leave my love,

Hidden in the sun,

For when the darkness comes"

Hidden in the sun,

For when the darkness comes," She finished before she kissed both of their foreheads like a mother would her husband and child, both beginning to rapidly fall asleep.

She began to run her fingers in Natsu's hair, his face relaxed and peaceful. Then She heard him mumble in his sleep. What she heard made her smile.

"Lu...cy... my..." He paused. "Li... ght..."

A/N:

\- Lucy can kinda do Dragon Slaying Magic as well since Natsu's Dragon Parent blessed her with part of his power and her mother taught her some of the Fire Dragon Slaying Magic. Though it's not exactly like Natsu's, she has her own brand of Slaying Magic.

** - This song is called, _When the Darkness Comes_ , by Colbie Caillat.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

Lucy woke up to someone poking her. She opened her eyes to see two pairs of black eyes staring at me. Both had a look of possessiveness to them, though Natsu tried his best to clear his eyes of anything of that sort. He stared at her almost blankly, save for the soft smile on his face. She smiled back at him and looked toward Happy, who thought of her as a mother. _I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be at this very moment._

"Mornin', mama!" Happy chirped. She smiled again at him.

"Happy, please go see if there is a nearby pond," She asked him sweetly. He nodded back, a bit stiffly. As he flew up to go, she tugged his wing gently and pulled him into a loving embrace. He was stiff, but soon relaxed in her arms.

"Morning to you too, kiddo." She took his small green backpack off his back. She immediately recognised the guild mark on his back. It was green.

Giggling, she pushed him up to look for a pond. Once she knew he was gone, she turned to Natsu.

"That song you sang...it was nice," He hesitated at first but ultimately completed her.

She smiled again before swiftly becoming serious. "We need to talk about what happened at the guild. First, what happened after I passed out when Lisanna attacked me?"

She stared at him with the most intimidating look she could muster.

He sighed and began to speak. "Once I saw you knocked out, I began to beat her up for hurting you. I used my magic to the hottest extent it could go. I gave her third-degree burns and a very bad concussion. Too bad the leach will still have her memory," He pouted.

"Leach?"

"Yea, she is always on top of me, tryin' to suduce me. Always trying to get what she wants, no matter how bad it is. She always beats Happy when I'm not around, but is all sweet on him when I am. Happy told me that she does that."

She gawked at him. _Next time I see her, I'm keeping Happy near me to protect him! I could care less about what she does to me, but mess with people I care about, you're_ so _dead!_

She gave him a soft node, showing she understood. "As for the guild, do you want to go back? Or do you want to do something else?"

He looked passive as he thought over what to do. As he does, she could see Happy flying back to them. On instinct, she holds her arms out and waits for him to come into the embrace. "Did you find one?"

"No pond, but there is a lake," He informed her sweetly as he snuggled closer to her during their hug. She nodded in approval. _He looks proud of his completed mission._

"Come on, Aki. Bath time." Natsu groans, but does as she asked. Looking at Happy, she handed him to Natsu. He gently holds him as Happy points where to go. The two follows as they became lost in thought.

She began stripping out of her clothing behind a big tree, after they arrived, as Happy waited on the other side. He said he wouldn't get in the water until she was ready. He would make these teasing comments about her being ugly and fat, but she giggled and said she already knew and was working on changing that.

Thinking back on it, Lucy could have sworn she heard Natsu mumble something about her being perfectly fine. She shrugged, not thinking much of it.

She picked Happy up once she was done and saw Natsu already waist-deep in the lake. She smiled at him before running and doing a cannon ball. Hearing Happy hold his breath, she knew he'd be okay. Popping her head up to show just above her bust, she saw a soaking wet Natsu glaring admonishingly at her. Happy whimpered and she guessed even he fears him sometimes. She just smiled.

"Loosen up, Aki!" She encouraged him, splashing some water in his direction.

She saw a smirk play on his lips as he splashed Happy and her back.

"Hey! I didn't do anything to you!" Happy wailed.

"You were with her when she made the big splash," Natsu stated simply. Happy glowered at him weakly before he too joined Natsu and her in a splashing war.

They knew they all needed this. Apparently, when she was too distracted by having the small war, she was fully standing—showing everything—and, for some reason, didn't really mind. She looked at Natsu and Happy and saw that Happy had fallen asleep on Natsu's head. She smiled for a moment before turning serious.

"Aki?" He looked at her, giving her his full attention. "Did you decided on what we should do?"

He nodded. "We should train."

She nodded and thought about it. _We could get to know each other more and help each other better. If we could help each other better, we could be able to prevent some things from happening. If we could do that, people can see that we were meant to be friends for a reason. When people see that, they won't doubt us as much._

"Let's do it!" Lucy said excitedly, her blonde hair everywhere and almost covering her brown eyes. Shrugging, Natsu got out of the water, not caring if she saw him. Ever since she and him have met, he had felt things he probably never felt before. Things like being happy, overprotective, gentle, and love.

He was not as oblivious about feelings as she was because he knew that he had a thing for Lucy. She and Happy have shown him kindness. Well, Happy does fear him at times, but he still sticks with Natsu whereas everyone else shows him fear or jealousy and stay away. He also sese that when they fear him, they won't come back unless they _absolutely_ have to.

After they were both dressed, she took Happy with her and he heard a faint roar in the distance. Wanting to get rid of some more anger and frustration off from yesterday, he listened intently for its source. _Seems it's those forest monkeys again…_

"Woman." He just called her that to annoy her. And boy, her face is _cute_ when he succeeds. Her cheeks puff out slightly, her nose scrunching ever so softly with her lips thinning a bit. She calms down and comes over to him.

"Aki." He signed, but she continued. "Can you dry my hair a bit? Please? It's sticking to me and I don't like it."

Grabbing her hair gently, he heated his hand only a tad so her hair could be damp and not dripping wet. She smiled as he hears someone come closer. Quickly placing her behind him, he gets into a fighting stance. He sniffed the air and smelled ice and metal. _Huh, which of the monsters will come first? Monkeys or them?_

Growling, he moves Lucy away so she won't have to see him get ugly.

"What do you want?" He growled through clenched teeth. Sniffing again, he smelled apples and cocoa butter. Leach. So, it's definitely the monster. Now that he looks at them, it looks like they fought the monkeys because they were a little bloody and banged up and because he couldn't hear them anymore.

When Gray, Erza, and Lisanna came out, he sneered.

Erza was the first to speak. "Where is Lucy?"

He stayed still. He focused hard and connected his thought to Lucy. _Be quiet and stay there… please…_

"She left with Happy."

"WHY THE HELL DID YOU LET HER GO?" The ice wielder roared.

"She said she wanted to take a bath with him." The leach looked at him with these kicked puppy eyes. He glared harshly back at her, and for the first time ever, she backed away.

 _Figures. Everyone does at some point. Hopefully Lucy isn't that way._

"Dra-Dragneel?" She stuttered uncertainty.

He bared his teeth at her. "You didn't have to come looking for us. We would have come back today." They look sceptical. "Lucy's idea."

Then they look at me with belief. They sat down and waited. _What are they waiting for?_

Glaring at them harshly, he saw them all flinch, but they didn't move.

"Can I come back?" Lucy asked. Mentally sighing, he nodded at her. As soon as that was done, he saw Happy and Lucy wet again. _Looks like they had fun._

"Aki?" She asked hesitantly, taking a step forward. He looked at her with the glare that he only gave the others and saw her stiffen and her eyes become glossy, as if she were somewhere else entirely.

"I'm... sorry... daddy…." She stuttered as she apologised, her eyes starting to brim with tears as she backed away slowly in fear, her hands protectively covering her face.

 _Just what did that man do to her?_ Focusing hard, he saw what she was seeing through the bond his Dragon parent bestowed on them.

Her dad had been hitting her viciously, all throughout having a glare. Her small frame was now shaking and bloody, her eyes filled with fear.

"YOU KILLED HER! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL HER YOUR MOTHER!" He screamed. Delving further in her memories, he saw that the man had done so much worse, but he didn't even want to recall it. It's too disturbing, even to _him_ , which is saying something.

Moving close enough that he was beside her, he kissed her cheek and hugged her. He whispered that he wasn't going to hurt her ever again. She relaxed and hugged him back.

"What was it that you wanted so much earlier?" He asked gruffly. She thought for a moment then the wind suddenly picked up speed as it hit her, making her drenched hair stick to her. She made a look of realization and, before she evem asked, he started to dry her hair for the second time in the last ten minutes.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked to the others, who up to this point have been quiet as they watched the two, but not too pleased to see them. He smiled softly at Happy and her and gently forced her to sit in her lap. The two had looks of surprise and confusion, Lisanna having a look of jealousy.

"We came to bring you back, bitch-I'm mean, sweetie," Lisanna corrected herself at the end. Before he could snarl and glare at her, Lucy leaned back to where her back was on his chest.

"In all honesty, Lis, I don't like how you treat me nor anyone else in the guild." She looked calm but confident as she said this.

He looked at her blankly, and unless you knew him, you wouldn't see the look of confusion in his eyes.

"Tell me the real reason why you hung out with Aki. It's definitely not to be his friend. If everyone looked close enough, you could see that you despised him. You hate him, but you wanted to have everyone think of you as some sort of God to be friends with him, isn't that right?" Lucy accused Lisanna.

Lisanna looked shocked, but she quickly became angered. "How dare you?! You don't deserve-0" before she could finish, he glared at her, this time with all the hatred he could muster. "I don't care, Dragneel, she doesn't fucking deserve you."

He would have had a go at her but Lucy looked at him with a look that made him stay.

As she walked over to them, he noticed that Grey and Erza look pleased. They sent a smirk over to me. _Did they really not hear the conversation?_

"She's with us, Dragneel," They taunted. Rolling his eyes, he just focused on what Lucy was doing. She looked at Lisanna thoroughly and found what she was looking for. Reaching out, she grabbed a necklace that Lisanna had had ever since she was a kid. Then all that they could see was a shadow around the necklace.

"Aki." She looked at him. "I need your help."

Natsu nodded and stood up and walked to her. She placed the necklace on the ground. At some point, Lisanna had involuntarily passed out. "Use the brightest spell you know and aim at the necklace where the shadow is."

"Fire Dragon Roar!"

"Celestial Flame heart!" A heart formed in her hand. It was covered in bright gold flames and stars. he missed her old magic. The celestial spirit magic. He remembered the keys and how she used them, but this magic was _so_ much cooler.

They directed the spells at the shadow that was currently circling around the pink heart on the necklace. As soon as the magic hit it, the flame disappeared from sight. Once that was done, Lucy placed the necklace on the Leach and she suddenly woke up.

"Ow…" Lisanna let out as Lucy pushed her towards Grey and Erza.

"We'll be at the guild in an hour," Lucy informed them curtly. They nodded and left, trusting her word.

"We are going to train. Hold my hand," She instructed him and he did as she said with Happy in his arms. _Huh, I forgot how he got there._ "Stars of Heaven, I humbly ask that you bring us to the Fairy Tail guild."

They were quickly covered in flames and stars, enveloping our every senses until it started to dull. Once the last of it dissipated, he had to blink to make sure he was really seeing the guild.

"Master!" Natsu called out, anxiety creeping into his voice as soon as he saw the Master. He looked surprised. He then looked at Lucy for her to explain.

"We are leaving to train. We'll be back every few months to collect books and extra food. We'll come back officially in eight years." The master nodded his approval and she walked out to follow a trail that ventured into some kind of forest, Natsu and Happy not too far behind.

Further up a trail, he saw a town that surrounded a mansion. "Welcome to the place I grew up in," Lucy introduced the town to him.

He nodded as he squeezed her hand and led them to where our training would begin.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 16

Former Authoress: Primsgirl89 (You can find her on both Wattpad and !)

Beater/Reviser & New Authoress: Kartara (You can find me both on Wattpad and .)

Quick note: I, Kartara, adopted this series form Primsgirl89 and began to write for it. Soon after, Prim and I both agreed that it'd be best if I edited the past chapters (Chapters 1 – 12) in my own style and upload it as my own fan-fiction to avoid copyright. Credit for the original story plot and development should go to her for these lovely chapters!

 **Former Authoress' Notes: The last update before it gets adopted.**

"I think we can stay at the guild and train. We don't have tolerate..." Happy begins to say as he shakes from Natsu's burning glare. Lucy admitted in her mind that it was childish of her to make that decision all by herself.

She sighed and nodded. She made another transportation spell to bring them back, though not to the guild, but to a meadow she had stumbled across when she first joined the guild.

"Natsu?" She asked unsurely. He made a grunting noise to let her know that he was listening. "Can you sing to me?"

Happy and he looked at me like she had three heads, though after a bit, Happy admitted that he wanted to hear Natsu sing as well. They looked up at him, hopeful and curious.

He sighed before looking directly at Lucy. "Okay, but answer me this; why did you stop calling me Aki?"

She hadn't realized how she had stopped, but it's now rare for her to call him Aki. "Because I should call you by your name. Your eyes light up when I do."

 _It's true; whenever I say his name, his eyes light up the slightest bit. Just enough for me to see._

"Aye! Same with me!" Happy exclaims as he raises a little paw. She hugged the fur ball for all his cuteness. Natsu just watched them for a moment before he laid down on his back and watched the clouds become darker.

She may have a fear of thunderstorms, but she loved the rain, especially the darkness of it. How that even when it rains, it could be fun to think of all the good that can happen after or as a result of the storm. Life, the way they could all be together and make the best of it. _Be with the ones you love so it's not so gloomy._

Her mother loved the rain like she did, albeit she didn't fear thunderstorms like her. Happy and she joined Natsu to watching the darkening sky, Lucy soon after placing a barrier over them. The barrier was see-through with stars that helped make the form of flames focus specifically on certain places to keep them all warm. When they laid down, they had all unconsciously made a triangle as they watched.

Hearing Natsu hum softly, Lucy knew he was warming up, but his voice was so smooth and soothing that she relaxed a lot more. Happy seemed to think the same as his tail swayed softly to the beat*.

"Guess it's true, I'm not good at a one-night stand," He started, shaky and softly. He was so unsure of himself. Well, at least she thought so. He held out his hand and toward her side of the triangle. And she took it.

"But I still need love 'cause I'm just a man. These nights never seem to go as planned," He looked to Happy peeling his head, his eyes showing the pain. Those two needed love in their lives. She could only hope she could help.

Soon, they both looked at her, eyes pleading. "I don't want you to leave, will you hold my hand? Oh, won't you stay with me? 'Cause you're all I need. This ain't love, it's clear to see, but darling, stay with me." He must have sung this to Happy because he also joined in; his voice was so soft and on a higher pitch than Natsu's. They seem to end that song.

"I will stay with you guys. You're my family, my nakanama. You guys are my new beginning," Lucy told them, her voice wavering as tears began to brim in her eyes. Happy flew into her arms, tears running down his face. Looking up at the sky, one might it also seemed to be crying at their moment. She looked to see Natsu hesitating to come into the hug. She patted the spot next to her encouragingly. Her eyes begin to well up as she began to sing a new part of this song.

"Why am I so emotional? No, it's not a good look, gain some self-control, and deep down I know this never works, but you can lay with me so it doesn't hurt," She sang in the tune that the two had used. Happy and Natsu looked at her and sang a part by themselves. Natsu isn't crying, but you can see the pain from all the years of isolation of other people while being judged.

"Oh, won't you stay with me? 'Cause you're all I need, This ain't love it's clear to see, But darling, stay with me," Happy sang as he looked at them with tears eyes. Natsu ruffled the fur on top his head and nodded. She wiped the tears away.

"Of course, my little Happy," Lucy murmured quietly but sweetly. Natsu gazed at us and sings as well.

"Oh, won't you stay with me? 'Cause you're all I need, This ain't love, it's clear to see, but darling, stay with me." Happy hugged Natsu. saying he always had loved him and will continue to. Lucy gave Natsu a gentle side hug that he also returned.

"Oh, won't you stay with me? 'Cause you're all I need, This ain't love, it's clear to see, but darling, stay with me." And they all just stayed like that. Stayed in their own circle of them. They were their own family. A family no one could fully understand. They can always hope to have others join, but not want.

Natsu and Happy fell asleep soon after, softly snoring. She looked up at the now shining sky. The sun peaked through the grey skies. _This truly is a new beginning for the three of us._

 _A new beginning at a family_

 _A new beginning_ at _the guild._

 _A new beginning_ for _the guild._

 _A new beginning of a future with happiness and friends._

She raised her hand and teleported to her apartment room. The group that were assigned to get them to come back—Grey, Erza, and Lisanna—were in her house, looking quite comfy and at home. Not liking it one bit, she pointed at the door, gesturing for them to leave. After seeing they weren't going anywhere, she grunted as she picked up a very heavy Natsu and Happy sleeping on top of him. She placed them on a bed that she made up just for them, gently lifting the blanket just below their necklines and tucking it in around them for maximum warmth. After she had finished doing that, she took a spot at the front of the bed, gazing affectionately at her new family.

The group seemed uncomfortable now as she laid beside the two, squirming and shifting in their seats. Lisanna, in particular, was aiming death-glares at her for even being close to Natsu. Grey and Erza—with a very hesitant and pouty Lisanna—left, saying that they were glad the three were back.

Lucy yawned once she heard the click of the door, fluttering her eyes open when they involuntarily closed several times. Before she knew it, her eyes had closed once more and she was out like a light, curling up in a ball near Natsu's feet.

Authoress' Notes:

As aforementioned, this is the last chapter Primsgirl89 wrote before I adopted it and began to write for it. From this chapter onwards, it will only be my work.

* - Song is _Stay with Me_ by Sam Smith


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Quick note: I adopted this series from Primsgirl89 and I'm continuing from where she left off. Technically, this is chapter 13. If you want to see her 1 – 12 chapters but revised in my style, feel free to look back in this fan-fiction!

 **Also, sorry to Lyonsgirl if this seems to be a copy of yours. Primsgirl89 didn't mean it that way and neither do I. Don't worry, I won't copy your story in the slightest!**

 **Btw Aki is what Lucy calls Natsu; it means "fall." She considers him fall because even though fall ends up dying at the end of the season, it brings about spring and all it's wonderful pretty blossoms and smiles. Basically, she thinks he'll bring happiness to her life.**

 **Leech refers to Lisanna since Natsu thinks she forces herself onto other people and just ends up being a pain. Sorry if you're a Lisanna x Natsu fan; in this fan-fiction, she's kinda mean.**

Lucy woke up next to a sleeping Natsu and Happy, yawning and stretching quietly so as not to wake them. She felt herself smile as she looked at their sleeping faces.

 _They look so peaceful... I really do feel like the mother of this family..._ She thought, sitting up and propping herself up with her hand.

Unconsciously, she lifted her hand to brush a piece of pink hair out of Natsu's face.

She proceeded to rub his cheek gently with her thumb from side-to-side.

 _What I would do if I could just-_

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" A voice screamed out, breaking her train of thought.

 _Eeeekkk!_

She quickly moved her hand and turned around, blushing hard. She saw an angry Lisanna staring back at her. "D-Did you see any of that?"

"You mean the part where you were all up on him? Yeah, definitely," She snaps, holding Lucy's blue diamond-patterned teacup. _She must be jealous..._

Lisanna then put her teacup down and got up from her blue loveseat before approaching the blonde wizard with a glare.

 _Since when did she help herself to my tea?! I thought she left last night with Grey and Erza?!_

"In case you're wondering, I couldn't sleep once I went back so I decided to come and look at Natsu sleep," She answered as if she could read Lucy's mind.

 _Get out of my head!_ She thought as she got up from her bed and stood in front of her.

"First thing, THAT'S CREEPY AND ILLEGAL TO BREAK INTO SOMEONE'S HOUSE LATE AT NIGHT! Second thing, don't help yourself to anything in my house just because you're here!" She spat out angrily, clenching her fists at my side.

She just sighed and ignored her rude comments.

"Look," She started, looking sideways and avoiding eye-contact. "Before, when you said that I have no idea how to love or how to make true friends..."

An awkward silence filled the air as her face slowly reddens to the bright shade of crimson.

"…I want you to teach me!" She finished, closing her eyes and curtly bowing with clenched fist at her sides.

 _Huh?! Did Lisanna literally just request something from me, or am I dreaming?_

"W-Why would you want me to?" Lucy started, not sure what to say in response. She waved her hands nervously with her eyes closed as a way to tell her she can stop bowing.

She straightens and looks at her directly in the eyes with a determined look. "I want to be a worthy person for Natsu to love. In order for that to happen, I need to know how to properly love and care for someone."

"But I thought you only cared about him so that everyone could admire you like some sort of goddess!" The blonde wizard choked out, shock clearly showing on her face.

"That was before. I know that Natsu is hurt in the inside because of the treatment of the guild and I want to change all that for his sake. I really _do_ care about him and I want to know how to properly show it to him!" She stated firmly.

 _But I want Natsu to be-_

Her thought was interrupted by Natsu as he unexpected grabbed her hand.

"Lucy... don't... leave..." He murmured in his sleep, tightening his grip on her hand.

She smiled. _He looks like a little kid doing that..._

She turned her attention back, remembering Lisanna was right in front of her.

She glared at her. "He can only show affection towards _you_. I want him to be able to do that with me too!"

Lucy tightened her grip on his hand. "Sure. I don't mind teaching you how to properly care for someone…

…In _one condition_."

"What is your condition?" Lisanna asked with resolve ringing in her voice.

"I care for Aki as well. If you do indeed care for him, then I want us to each have an equal chance to prove that to him and let _him_ decide who he cares about the most.

"I won't agree if you won't concede my point."

She nods. "Very well. I agree to your condition."

Lisanna then turns toward Natsu. "First things first!"

She then proceeded to take her hand away from his and slides hers in Lucy's place.

Natsu opened his eyes, realising that the hand he was holding wasn't his Lucy's anymore.

He glared at Lisanna as he got up. "HOW DARE YOU, LEECH?!"

Lucy sighed and laugh nervously as he pushed Lisanna to the wall on the other side of the room, waking Happy up in the process. She gets blocked by the blonde's table and topples over, landing on her back. _This is going to be a long day, isn't it?_


	14. Chapter 14

Hi! Sorry for the long delay in updates! To be fair, I had two tests on the same day so give me a break! :D

 _To_ _NaLu and InuKag_ : Thank you soo much! I'm glad you enjoy where I am taking this series and I also do hope that Primsgirl89 will as will! (BTW INUYASHA AND KAGOME ARE MY MOST FAVORITE SHIP EVER. THAT WAS THE FIRST ANIME I EVER WATCHED!)

 _To alaina123:_ Thanks for your support! I hope I don't disappoint you! **Puts both thumbs up**

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

* * *

After Lucy finally finished cleaning the mess Natsu and Lisanna made fighting, they all head to the guild.

It was a bright summer day with a nice breeze flowing in the wind. Not too strong or too weak, just right.

Lucy was wearing her normal white-and-blue shirt with her skirt having a whip attached. Her hairstyle was a clump of hair put together in a palm-tree ponytail, although most of it was down. Lisanna was wearing a light-blue top with dark navy shorts and regular black flats while Natsu wore his signature vest and baggy shorts. Happy, of course, only wearing his green scarf and green bookbag.

Lucy tilts her head up and closed her eyes as she walked towards the guild with Natsu holding Happy on his shoulders to her right and Lisanna on her left, letting the breeze engulf her every thought.

Then she tilted her head back down and opened her eyes.

"We should probably go in one at a time..." Lucy tells them, not completely thrilled about this arrangement.

Lisanna nods while Natsu grunts, his way of agreeing.

"I'll go first, then you can go next." Lisanna replied, walking up the steps and putting her hand on the doorknob.

Once she goes in, Lucy hears everyone greeting her in a fake-happy manner. _Aki wasn't kidding when he said everyone thought she was annoying,_ she thought.

Next Natsu went in, letting Happy off his back to fly by his left side. Every fake smile, laugh, or greeting was quickly silenced by his presence.

Lucy then went in after them, showing no emotion on her face at all. She waved at Gray and Erza and went to go sit with them.

"Luwcy, wee haft tu teel ou sum gret nuws!" Erza exclaims, wearing her signature silver armor with brown boots with her hair down. She had strawberry cake in her mouth so she couldn't speak that well.

Lucy waves her hands at her sides. "Take your time eating! We wouldn't want you choking!"

"Well, it is some exciting news for us. Natsu might freak out though." Gray states, taking off his socks. He was already half-naked and in his boxers.

"What? What do you mean?!"

Erza gulps down the rest of her cake and slams her hand on the wooden table, the table shaking in response.

"We're going to be a team from now on! Isn't that great?!" She exclaims, getting up and getting in the middle of Lucy and Gray to give us a hug. "Master ordered it!"

"Er.. za... you're... squeez... ing... me..." Lucy barely managed to cry out, breathing already too difficult.

Erza paid no attention to this. "We're going to be the best team in all of Fiore Kingdom! We'll go on job requests together, eat together, play together-"

"Listen up!" Master shouts, standing on the rail on the other side of the guild hall. It was connected to the 2nd floor, only available to S-Class Wizards.

Erza lets go of us, wondering what this sudden Guild meeting was about.

"The Magic Council has informed us that they have the location of Eisenwald!"

"That's all done and good, but what does that have to do with us?" Makarov states, holding up a wooden cup filled to the brim with alcohol.

"Eisenwald is a dark guild that was found out by the Magic Council years ago for taking assassination requests. Even though they arrested the original Eisenwald guild master years ago and ordered to be disbanded, they still live on to this day. Rumors state that they have become one of the many sub-subordinate guilds in a circle of many dark guilds." Master states.

"That still doesn't answer my question." Makarov spits out, obviously drunk.

"I was getting to that!" Master snaps back, giving his best glare at Makarov. "They have ordered Fairy Tail to eliminate this potential threat since we are the closest wizard guild to them and one of the best."

"We need a strong team to go after Eisenwald, but not a whole attack team. Eisenwald doesn't have that many followers as of now and I rather save most of my most talented wizards for other jobs." He states, looking all over the guild for a potential team.

"We'll be glad to do it!" Erza shouts out after an akward silence, raising her hand high.

"What?!" Gray and I spit out, rising up and putting our hands on the table.

"We'll need to practice to be one of the best teams in Fiore! This is our chance, don't you see?!" Erza exclaims, obviously not realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Then it's settled! Erza, Lucy, and Gray will go and stop Eisenwald!" Master states.

"WAIT!"

Everyone looked towards the sound of the voice. It was Natsu, on the 2nd floor, both of his hands on the railing adjacent to Makarov's.

Everyone was surprised it was his voice because in just one word he managed to show fear, anxiety, and worry.

"If this must indeed happen, I have one request!" Natsu says with a worried look in his eyes.

"What is your request?"

"I would like to accompany Lucy and help her with this task!" He states with determination.

Makarov closes his eyes for a moment as if he was deep in thought.

"Alright!" He says, opening his eyes after a bit of silence.

"What?!" Everyone exclaimed, including Lucy. She didn't think it would be that easy since Master forbid Natsu and Lucy to ever be a team again.

"In one condition, though!" Master crosses his arms, looking Natsu dead in the eyes. "The Magic Council said that no one was supposed to kill them, otherwise we would be no better than them. Do you think you'll be able to stop being so over-protective of Lucy enough to follow this order?"

Natsu gulps, knowing this was next to impossible. "I will try my best to follow this order."

Master nods. "Very well! It is decided that Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and Erza will all go to disband Eisenwald _without_ killing them!"


	15. Chapter 15

After Makarov had finished the announcement and everything cooled down, he told us to come to the back of the bar Mirajane manages to explain the details.

"So, exactly how bad _is_ Eisenwald?" Gray finally asked after a bit of awkward silence.

"They weren't _that_ bad before, but now they've become a bigger threat then the Magic Council can handle," Makarov responded.

He sighed. "Now, they have a magic flute called "The Lullaby." Hearing it makes anyone fall into a deep sleep. Eventually, they end up dying from lack of care for the human body."

" _What_?! Why would anyone make such a thing?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Zeref made it. No one for sure knows why, though. Rumor has it that he made it to try to kill himself. It didn't go as planned..." Mirajane explained.

Lucy nodded but was still confused. "If this was made by Zeref himself, how did it get into the hands of Eisenwald?"

"The Magic Council had it and put it away for safekeeping to make sure no one played it ever again. Eisenwald bribed one of the guards for the whereabouts of it and they took it late last night. They know it was them because their magic cameras caught them and showed their guild mark." Makarov responded.

A magic camera is an orb of matter that records everything it sees. It can even turn invisible and weightless so no one sees it! Lucy always wanted one but could never afford the price of 70,000 jewels. That was ten times the amount of her rent!

"In order to defeat Eisenwald, you'll need to be quick and fast about it. Any second they could bring out the flute and play it. You won't stand a chance if they do." Mirajane said.

 _Lullaby flute, plug your ears, dark guild, be fast. Got it!_ Lucy thought as she did a quick review of the information she was given.

"Lastly, as I said before, you are not to kill anyone under any circumstances," Makarov said, his gaze shifting to Natsu. "If you even try to kill _one_ person and I hear about it, you'll never be allowed to work with Lucy ever again."

Natsu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he nodded.

"If that's all, we'll be on our way." Erza responded, getting up from the shelf of food she was leaning on.

"Oh, one more thing." Makarov started, stopping the team from going out the door. "You'll need to take a train."

"A _train_?" Natsu said as he gulped.

"Yup. We've heard that they are planning to play the lullaby at the train station. Eventually, the sound will spread to the entire town. Everyone will die in a coma." Makarov stated.

 _I don't get it,_ Lucy thought. _Why is Aki so worried about going on a train?_

* * *

The team arrived at the train station and boarded the train Makarov told them to. Gray and Erza sat in the seat behind Lucy and Natsu. Everyone was across from each other. It only took a couple of minutes for Lucy to realize why Aki was so worried about getting on a train.

"Wow. The great and powerful Natsu is only beaten by a train? Pathetic." Gray snarled.

"You... shut... up..." Natsu managed to get out before barfing.

"Well, you sure do help the conductors with their jobs, don't you?" Erza said sarcastically.

"Aki can't help it that he is motion sick!" Lucy defended him, getting up from her seat to go across to pat Natsu's back and help him. She couldn't sit in her spot anyways since the vomit followed the current of the train and went towards her way.

"I'll go get Daddy a bag so he doesn't vomit all over the place." Happy offered, flying off towards the main center of the train. The team had chosen to take the back of the train with no people other than them since Natsu insisted on it.

 _Poor Aki,_ Lucy thought. _I wish there was some way I could help..._

Shortly after Happy appeared with two bags. He told Natsu one was for barfing and the other one was to help him breathe to try to help his motion sickness.

After an hour of barfing and breathing in his two bags, Natsu was finally well enough to sit up due to the fact that the train had finally stopped. They had arrived at their destination!

"Lucy, you should go on ahead!" Erza quickly said with a fake smile.

Confusion clouded Lucy's gaze as she furrowed one of her eyebrows. "Okay, but why?"

"Ladies first. Plus, you're fat, so it might be best for you to go first so you don't get left behind trying to run." Gray quickly said as if he made it up in a few seconds.

Lucy crossed her arms and gave Gray her best glare. " _For your information_ , I'm not fat, I'm just busty! Also, I _can_ run, thank you very much!"

Nevertheless, Lucy still turned around and walked towards the main entrance of the train, mumbling angrily as she did. _Knowing he was right didn't make things any easier,_ she thought.

After her hour-glass figure disappeared from distance, Gray and Erza realized Happy was there.

"Why exactly did you make Mama leave so quickly?" Happy asked.

Gray and Erza gave each other a mischevious look. "You'll find out soon enough!"

"Hey Natsu," Gray said, turning towards him. "How about a friendly race to the entrance?"

Natsu put his right hand in a fist and used the other hand to cover it. "You're on!"

Natsu was more confident due to the fact that the train had stopped.

"I'll join!" Erza piped in.

Gray nodded. "We go in one... two... three!"

Everyone raced towards the entrance, including Happy. Erza was ahead of Natsu and Gray who were neck-to-neck with each other.

"Ha! I win!" Happy said as he flew out the entrance. Erza came out a few seconds later.

"Flying is cheating!" Natsu snapped.

Suddenly, Gray put a bit more of speed into his run and was a bit ahead of Natsu. Before he reached the entrance, though, he pushed Natsu on a seat on the right of the train.

"What was that for?!" Natsu hissed, his back hitting the wall due to gravity.

Gray and Erza just waved, smiling. Natsu didn't understand why until he felt the train start to move.

"Woahhh! You bastards planned this, didn't you?!"

* * *

Lucy saw Gray and Erza running up to her with Happy close by.

"Where's Aki?" She asked.

Gray shrugged. "He said he'll take the next train here. He's too sick to investigate right now."

Lucy nodded. "Okay! I'll do my best to make up for his absence!"

She turned away from the train that was signaling its leave.

She didn't even see Natsu with his head was out of a window, barfing as soon as the train departed.

* * *

 **Hope you guys like this chapter! I was thinking about the first episode where Natsu was coming to town to see Salamander and Happy left him on the train. His head was out the whole time**!

 _ **I have another story called "The Girl Who Overcame Time" so I may not update it as often as I do.**_

 _Reader: OFTEN?! YOU CALL ONCE A WEAK OFTEN?!_

 _Me:_ _ **Raises hands in defense.**_ _Okay, okay. Maybe not soo often..._

 _I'll TRY to upload more frequently for both stories but I'm a lousy writer._

 _Sorry, not sorry._


	16. Chapter 16

**Stretches fingers.**

This took me a few hours to do due to the fact that I needed to rewatch this part of Fairy Tail in the episodes. **Sighs** Sooo muchhh workkk.

To **NaLu and InuKag** : Ikr! Sorry for not updating It! (Go to the end of this to find out the reason why.)

To **Guest** : I was waiting too. Waiting for me to stop procrastinating once my power got on because I just _had_ to watch the newest PewDiePie videos!

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

* * *

Lucy and the rest of the team (excluding Natsu) looked around the station they had just arrived at.

"So... how exactly do we go about finding where Eisenwald is?" She asked. Even though Master said they had the location of Eisenwald, all they had was where they were going to execute their plan, not where they really were.

"Well, we could start by-" Gray started to say but was interrupted by the speaker with a megaphone.

" _Please stand back! The train that just left was the last one this station will send out or send in for a while! There has been a major explosion causing major damage to our main entrance building!"_ He said through the megaphone.

"Oh no! Aki won't be able to come here by train, then!" Lucy said, clutching her chest. "How is he going to get here?!"

"Excuse me, but what's going on?" Erza asked, putting a hand on the speaker's right shoulder.

"Why would I tell you, lady?" He snapped at her, giving her a mean look of impatience.

Erza slammed her forehead against his which resulted in him being knocked out.

After that, she proceeded to ask another worker of the train station what was going on.

The next worker saw what happened and gave her a frightened look, shrinking in her gaze.

"You're useless!" Erza hissed, slamming her forehead against his and knocking him out cold.

"Her questioning method seems a bit counter-productive..." Lucy said under her breath to Gray as Erza did the same exact thing to other unfortunate workers of the train station.

"You're telling me! That last guy didn't even get a chance to respond..." Gray responded, shivering. This was mostly due to the fact he was now half-naked.

"Where are your clothes?!" Lucy snapped, suddenly aware of it.

"The Eisenwald guild is inside!" Erza interrupted, standing in front of them. "I finally managed to get one of them to tell me at _least_ something. We should get going before they leave!"

"Right!" Gray said, making a fist in the air. Lucy nodded with a determined look on her face.

* * *

"A small unit of officers from the army stormed in, but they have yet to return!" Erza quickly explained as the team was running down a long hall towards the main room of the train's entrance. "I'm guessing they had a confrontation with the Eisenwald guild members-"

Lucy gasped, interrupting her. They had just reached the stairs to the upper part of the train's entrance and she couldn't believe what she saw.

Officer upon officer of the Magnolia army laid unconscious for as far as the eye could see-At least, that was what Lucy thought. She hoped they weren't dead...

"They've been completely wiped out...!" Happy murmured with worry.

"They were up against an entire guild of wizards..." Erza said as they managed to climb the stairs (With careful steps as to not hurt the officers) and walked down yet another long hallway. "A small unit of officers, even from Magnolia, without magic could never stand a chance against such a powerful dark guild."

Then, everyone heard a mysterious creepy laughter coming from ahead and they all stopped in their tracks, which happened to be in a large room.

"Welcome, Fairy Tail flies! Won't you step into our parlor?" A guy asked menacingly as he sat on a railing high up.

Below him were a large group of wizards, most likely from Eisenwald, Lucy presumed. They all laughed as soon as he finished speaking.

"Woah... there's so many of them!" Lucy squeaked out with fear showing in her voice.

"Don't worry, Mommy!" Happy said, giving her a smile. "I'll protect you with my life before I let any of them lay a hand on you!"

Lucy smiled back and managed to compose herself due to Happy's courage. She didn't want to seem weak in front of him.

"I take it you are Erigor?" Erza hissed with anger clearly showing in her voice.

The guy she was speaking to laughed. He had silver-white hair with a piece that he grew out that flopped to his left side, almost covering his left eye. He was shirtless so Lucy could see the dark-blue tattoos he had. They were two ribbon-like swirls that intersected which went down from both of his biceps and stopped at his chest. They also came down from below his belly button and stopped at his waistline. He had some sort of symbol close to his elbows, most likely his guild's.

"We're not threatened by _any_ of you!" Erza hissed once more. "Tell us what you're planning to do with Lullaby and why!"

"Oh, you haven't heard yet?" He snarled, having the most creepy smile on his face.

What Lucy saw next was unbelievable. He jumped up from the railing he was sitting on and suspended in mid-air!

 _What type of magic does that?!_

"What do all train stations have?" He asked, more for amusement than for an answer.

"He flew..." Lucy said, shocked.

"It's wind magic!" Happy explained worriedly.

Then he jumped once more but this time onto a pole with four speakers meant for the train station to broadcast news.

 _He meant the speakers..!_

"You plan to broadcast the Lullaby in the train stations, but why?!" Erza snapped, more agitated than before.

He laughed again. "Thousands of nosy people have come to this station to look at all the commotion. Who knows? If I extend the volume high enough, I may be able to kill this whole _city_ with my melody of death!"

"What reason do you have to commit such a heinous crime against the innocent people of this town?!" Erza hissed again.

"This is the cleansing for all the ungrateful people who took their rights for granted and don't realize the rights other people had taken away from them!" Iragor responded with a snarl.

"Killing them won't help you gain your rights back, it's only going to make it worse!" Lucy stated. "That's the whole reason your guild was ordered to disband in the first place!"

"At this point, we've given up trying to regain our rights," Erigor responded. "We want _power_. Then we will be able to forget about the sins of the past and take control of the future!"

"We're bringing in a new age of darkness." A guy from the front of the group below him said, bending down to touch the floor. "Don't worry, by then you'll be long gone!"

As he finished saying that, a purple magic circle appeared where he touched the ground. Streaks of black sprouted up from it and headed straight for Lucy.

 _Oh no! Is this the end for me?_ Lucy thought, flinching in fear. _I never even got to tell Aki how I-_

Lucy's thought was interrupted as someone jumped in front of her and blocked the streaks of black with fire fists.

"Eisenwald dude! I knew I heard that voice before somewhere!" The person hissed.

Lucy blinked as she registered who it was. Then, she blinked again.

"AKI?!" Lucy exclaimed, happiness showing on her face. "How are you even here?!"

"Well, long story short... This guy," Natsu said, pointing at the guy in front of the group. "Threw me out of the train half-way as I tried to grab the Lullaby from him. After a while, I managed to get over my motion sickness and ran here as fast as I could."

Then Natsu turned his attention back towards him. "Well, looks like we have a party! What's the occasion?"

"No Aki, these are the guys we have to fight!" Lucy tried to explain. _Why does he think it's a party?!_

Natsu crouched and put his fist in his open right hand as flames engulfed them. "Like I said, it's a party!"

* * *

 **Erigor** **P.O.V**

 _Everything is going according to plan. I will not rest until these Fairy Tail flies had heard the melody of death from Lullaby!_ Erigor thought as he smirked down at them.

"I leave these flies to you!" He said to the dark guild members below as he jumped off of the speaker pole and flew up in the air, "Show them what the mighty dark guild Eisenwald is capable of!"

Then he disappeared into thin air.

* * *

 **Lucy P.O.V**

 _He disappeared!_

 _Just... out of...thin air... !_

"Natsu and Gray," Erza began, interrupting Lucy's thought. "I need you to go ahead of us and stop him! If the two of you work together, nothing will be able to stop you!"

"And leave Lucy?!" Natsu snapped. "I would never do that, not even on my _life_!"

Erza opened her mouth to say something, but Lucy was faster. "Aki, it's okay to leave me every once in a while, just as long as you warn me first."

"But what if you get hurt?!" Natsu countered, fear glittering in his eyes. "I'll never be able to forgive myself!"

"Don't worry," Lucy responded as red flames with stars engulfed both of her fists at her sides. "I've learned some new moves that I've been _dying_ to try out!"

"Yeah! Besides, I'll be here to protect Mommy, so you won't have to worry, Daddy!" Happy said with determination.

Natsu was silent for a moment before he sighed and leaned forward, pulling Lucy in for an embrace.

"Promise me you'll fight with all your might and try not to get hurt..." He whispered in her ear.

She nodded, bringing her two flame-engulfed hands up and embracing him back. "I'll try. I may even need to use Happy for one of my new moves, too."

Natsu pulled back, smiling. "Just come back to me alive, okay?" He held up one of his hands in midair.

Lucy brought up one of her flame-engulfed hands to squeeze his. "That I can promise."

"Natsu!" Gray interrupted them. "We have to leave _now_ or we won't make it in time!"

Natsu sighed and pulled his hand away from Lucy's. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming!"

He and Gray ran off in the direction they came from and turned left onto another hallway.

"They're going after Erigor!" One of the guys in the wizard group hissed with menace, shooting mummy-like wrappings towards the railing high up and bringing himself up there. "I'm not going to let them do that!"

"I'm coming with you! That pink-haired dimwit is going to _pay_!" The guy who tried to hurt Lucy said, crouching towards the floor once more and making yet another magic circle. This time, though, he seemed to be sinking into it and disappeared after a short while.

The other guy jumped down from the railing and ran towards the direction Natsu and Gray disappeared to.

"We can catch up with them later," Erza stated, knowing this didn't help Lucy's worries for Natsu. "Right now, we need to take care of these guys first!"

"Two girls against an entire dark guild," Lucy stated the fact. "I don't like the odds of that, but it's a challenge I can face!"

"My mom always told me not to hit girls, but for this time I can make an exception!" One of the guys smirked.

"I'm sorry ladies, but you're not going to be so cute once we're done with ya!" Another guy snarled.

 **TBC**

* * *

 **Hope you liked this chapter, even if I made it a bit too long. _**

 **Sorry for not updating for more than two weeks! I was in the zone for Hurricane Matthew and had to get evacuated. Once we came back, we had no power. How fun must that be?**

 **Anyways, I feel like I didn't explain enough detail even with this long chapter. I'm not a good explainer x3**

 **Leave a review with your opinion on this! ^-^**


	17. Chapter 17

**Before I get to the story, I would like to address some reviews I've gotten since my last chapter and reply to them.**

 **Guest: Was it really 70,000 jewels? I guess I misunderstood that episode. Thanks for the correction!**

 **hi just a guest** **: I'm sorry that you feel like I am copying Lyonsgirl, but I can assure you that I am not. As for whether or not I will take this story down, I strongly advise you to carefully read the Author's Notes at the end of this chapter. Thank you for sharing your concern, though.**

 **NOW FOR THE STORY!**

* * *

Lucy felt the flames engulfing her fists spark a fire of passion in her heart. It motivated her to protect her friends, no matter what the cost was.

"Are you ready, Lucy?" Erza whispered low enough for only Happy and her to hear.

Lucy nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be, anyways."

"REQUIP!" Erza shouted. She became enveloped in a purplish glow, blinding everyone for a nanosecond. Once the glow had faded, it showed her wearing a pretty, white armor dress matched with a white angelic helmet as she hovered in mid-air.

 _It's so beautiful..._

Lucy shook her head, trying to concentrate. _Now is not the time to be distracted with a battle happening in front of you!_

"Like a skimpy white dress is going to stop a guild of men! Our guild's goal is _way_ more important than this!" A guy said, blushing and letting his eyes wander all over Erza's body.

"Imbecile!" Erza hissed, pointing a sword at him. _When did she get that?_ "I didn't put on this armor for your entertainment, but consider this ' _skimpy_ ' dress a present for your eyes before you _die!_ "

"Happy, do you mind helping me out really quick?" Lucy asked, clenching her teeth as well as her fists.

"Sure, Mama! Anything for you!" Happy replied eagerly.

"Take me to the top of the ceiling opposite of them and let me drop, okay?" Lucy instructed.

"Okay!" Happy replied confidently, although his voice and eyes betrayed the slightest hint of worry.

"She's getting away!" A guy with an ugly 80s-looking-mohawk hissed through clenched teeth, pointing at Lucy as Happy brought her to the opposite side of them.

"Don't worry!" Lucy called down to them. "I'm not leaving. I'm just getting _started_!"

Happy let go of her hesitantly and Lucy headed straight for a guy with a mohawk.

"Fire-star Dragonslayer TORNADO!" Lucy screamed out a few moments before she even made contact with him.

Now, instead of the flames just engulfing her fists, it spun around her with stars in a spiral that resembled a real live tornado!

This attack gave her feet a whole lot of more power and gave protection to the rest of her body, so it was a good move to use on a dark guild who fights dirty!

"Kyaa!" The Mohawk guy managed to sputter out as he hit the ground, stone-cold. Lucy landed on his back as delicately as a flower with no bruises or wounds whatsoever.

"I didn't know you could do that!" Happy said, shocked, as he descended from where he was.

"Like I said, I've learned a lot of moves I've been dying to try out!" Lucy smirked.

"You sure have changed since we first met Eisenwald, Mama!" Happy chirped with a big smile.

At the beginning of this battle, she had been very fearful and scared to face the legendary Eisenwald guild, but now that she realized how much was at stake if they lost this battle and Natsu's and Happy's support gave her the burning passion she needed to fight!

Lucy returned Happy's smile. "I feel like I've changed too, and it's all thanks to you and Natsu."

Lucy's and Happy's moment didn't last long before Lucy had to duck an oncoming attack from one of the wizards, resulting in the wizard losing their balance and falling face-first to the ground.

"Fairy Tail ain't nothing but a bunch of obstinate wizards who don't follow the rules!" One man taunted them as the rest of his teammates hollered in agreement.

"Silence!"

Erza gestured one of her hands upward, palm up, and a magic circle suddenly emerged. Upon closer inspection, Lucy realized that a sword was emerging from the circle!

Once the magic circle had dissipated and the sword was firmly clutched in tightly her hands, Erza pointed the sword threateningly in the Eisenwald Guild Members' general direction.

"Insult Fairy Tail again and none of you will live to see tomorrow!" The red-haired wizard hissed through clenched teeth as she glared down at the members of the dark guild.

"We aren't scared of you!" A man shot back at her. "We have plenty of swordsmen in Eisenwald!"

With that, he and the rest of his teammates charged at her with whatever weapon they had.

Erza crouched down slightly, getting into a stance that she had learned from experience. She closed her eyes as she concentrated her power on her holy sword, then opened them as she glided it through the air.

Somehow, her sword had managed to create such a gust of wind that it pushed all of the dark guild members back, even dragging some of them into the air and then slamming them into the wall!

"Wow!" Lucy said with admiration. "That was so cool!"

Happy smiled. "That's the Strongest Woman in Fairy Tail for ya!"

Erza gave them a side glance. "That was nothing. I'm hoping that I don't have to exert my full power to stop them, but if I have to, THAT will be twice as interesting for you two."

Lucy was about to give her more encouraging words, but unfortunately, two blades came hurtling through the air as it barely missed the two of them.

Erza gritted her teeth as a purple magic circle appeared below her with gusts of wind pushing upward.

She became enveloped in a purplish glow, blinding everyone for a nanosecond. Once the glow had faded, it showed her with swords circling around her.

"You'll regret ever insulting us!" Erza shouted at them as she swooped her swords through the air in a swift, horizontal motion, creating a gust of wind that knocked more than half of them to the ground.

"Amazing!" Lucy said as her eyes sparkled. "She's so strong!

"She has a special ability that no other swordrequppier wizard has; she can also requip her armor if she chooses to," Happy informed her as he grinned. "That's why she was able to take out almost all of them in one swift attack!"

Erza glowered down on the remaining members that were still standing. "Care to fight me?"

The remaining dark guild members trembled in fear before collapsing to the ground. "N-No, M-Ma'am!"

"That's what I thought," Erza goaded as she transformed back into her regular iron armor.

She turned to face Happy and Lucy. "You two need to go help Natsu and Gray now. I'm sure Natsu is worried sick about the two of you, even if he won't admit it himself."

Lucy gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks!"

She and Happy both sped towards where Natsu and Gray were last seen, not bothering to look back.

Erza involuntarily got down on one knee before putting a hand down on the ground to steady herself. "I... may have... overdid it..."

She coughed up droplets of blood that fell to the ground, splattering across the marble floor. "Natsu... Gray... Lucy... and Happy... "

"Don't let... me... down..."

 **Natsu's P.O.V**

"What was Erza _thinking_?" Gray hissed as he ran alongside Natsu to catch up to Iragor.

"Obviously she wasn't thinking!" Natsu snapped back. _After all, she made me leave Lucy when she_ knows _I'm-_

Suddenly, Gray stopped. "Which way do we go?"

Natsu halted beside him. "I guess we have to split up."

Natsu chose the right way while Gray took the left. Before they parted, though, Gray stopped him.

"Natsu, we're up against an evil demagogue who wants to kill the entire city," Gray began. "If you find him, be sure to take him down without killing him. You wouldn't want to risk not being on the same team as Lucy, now would you?"

Natsu grunted in response, giving Gray a sincere look.

With that, Gray sped off towards the left way while Natsu continued down the right way at his top speed.

Natsu swerved this way and that way, not sure where to go.

"Come out, you coward!" Natsu goaded his unidentified assailant.

Natsu turned around just in time to see a black shadow trailing after him.

The shadow slowly sprung up in the air, forming a black silhouette of Natsu's enemy.

"Found you!" The black-haired man, who Natsu beat on the train, said triumphantly once he fully transformed.

Natsu smashed his fist into his stomach, slamming him into the wall. Once the black-haired man made contact with the wall, the wall gave in and broke, resulting in them falling inside a room.

"Good-for-nothing salamander!" The black-haired man hissed. "You"ll pay for that!"

He pushed Natsu off of him using his feet, causing Natsu to crash into a neatly-stacked pile of boxes.

"Stupid dog!" Natsu muttered under his breath.

"The name's Kage, NOT DOG!"

"Same thing, really," The pink-haired man responded. "I don't care what your name is. You tried to hurt my friends, and for that, I'll make you pay!"

Natsu gripped one of the boxes in his hands before throwing it at Kage, hitting him square in the face.

"Ouch!" Kage let out a pained shriek. "That hurt, you know!"

Natsu rolled his eyes. "You're a dark wizard. Haven't you _ever_ fought somebody?"

Kage pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the flow of blood that was running down his shirt.

"So what if I haven't?"

Before Natsu could say something sarcastic in response, he heard an all-too-familiar voice call out to him.

"Aki? Where are you?"

 _Lucy!_

 **Lucy's P.O.V**

 _Where's Aki?_

Lucy let out an irritated sigh as she continued her jog through the halls with Happy by her side.

Happy sniffed the air. "I think he's near!"

Lucy's eyes sparkled hopefully. "Really?!"

"Yup!" Happy responded as he sniffed a few more times before leading the way.

Lucy and Happy finally rounded a hallway where a wall had caved in and broke. _Yup, Aki was here, alright._

"Daddy!" Happy called out cheerfully as he ducked through the hole in the wall and flew into Natsu's arms.

"Umph!" Natsu managed out as Happy knocked him to the ground with his hug.

"Aki!" Lucy ran to his side, crouching down as she held Happy and Natsu in a tight hug.

"I've missed you so much!"

Natsu let one of his hands rest on top of her head as he stroked her hair. "I've missed you too. I've been worried sick, wondering if you were okay."

"This is all good and all, but we're in a middle of a fight," Kage interrupted their family moment.

Natsu helped Lucy, Happy, and himself up as he turned to face him. "I believe you were complaining about how you've never fought before today when I last fought you. Care for another round?"

"I have a better idea," Kage smirked. He made a hand gesture that opened up a magic circle underneath Lucy.

"Huh?" Lucy blinked in confusion as she stared down at the circle that swirled beneath her.

"Mama!" Happy cried out as he ran into her arms. Lucy hugged him tightly as the gust of wind emerging from the magic circle started to swirl around her.

 **Natsu's P.O.V**

The dark wizard made more hand gestures, drawing kanji symbols in the air.

 _What is he up to?_

Natsu squinted at the kanji symbols, trying to understand what they meant.

 _Im.. pris... on... ?_

 _IMPRISON!_

"Lucy!" Natsu tried to warn her, but it was too late. Lucy and Happy both evaporated alongside the magic circle. The last thing Natsu remembered was her terrified eyes as she gazed right through her.

He collapsed to the ground, clenching his fists as he gritted his teeth tightly.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Kage taunted as he smirked at him.

Natsu felt anger rising from the very fiber of his being, making him shake involuntarily. _Why, you-!_

Before Natsu knew it, he had Kage pushed up against the wall as he readied his free fist.

He hit Kage with all the power he had, letting his anger take over.

 _Oh no, this isn't good... pretty soon, I'll see red and be unable to control myself..._

He slowly slipped out of consciousness, only being dimly aware of him throwing Kage around and beating him practically to death.

 _Stop... you can't... kill... him..._

"Natsu, wait!" Another familiar, yet annoying, voice called out to him, snapping him back into reality.

Natsu blinked, realizing that now he was standing over a swollen-faced Kage with his hand gripping his shirt tightly.

Natsu didn't even bother to turn back. "What do you want, Gray?"

"Don't kill him!"

"So what if I do? It's none of your business!" He shot back.

"You won't kill him," Gray calmly replied back, "because if you do, you'll never be allowed to work alongside Lucy."

A flashback of Lucy appeared in Natsu's mind. He remembered it like it was just yesterday.

" _Aki!" She had called out to him._

 _He gave her a side glance. "What do you want?"_

" _I heard there is this new restaurant that opened us that is to die for! Let's go together!" She informed him with an I'm-on-top-of-the-world attitude._

 _Natsu glanced down at his attire. He was wearing his usual assortment of clothes; A loose black coat that showed off his abs that he had paired with white pants, not to mention that he was wearing Igneel's checkered white scarf around his neck._

 _Lucy, on the other hand, had definitely dressed for the occasion, even before getting a clear yes; She was wearing a pair of denim blue jeans, which showed off her curves, that she matched with an indigo-blue sweetheart neck shirt. She had braided her hair into one messy braid that she tied with a sky-blue ribbon._

She looks so perfect! I wonder how I look right now?

 _He absentmindedly let his fingers run through his hair in a futile effort to slick it back._

" _Sure, if you want to-"_

" _That's so great!" Lucy had cheerfully clasped her hands together. "We better get going!"_

 _She grabbed Natsu's hand and practically dragged him out of the Fairy Tail Guild house, ignoring his grunts of protests. Soon enough, she halted at a restaurant with a sign that read "_ Les Apotres de Pigalle _."_

This looks like a fancy restaurant... Should we really be going here?

 _Before he had a chance to convey his worries to Lucy, she had already started pulling him through the door and in front of the check-in podium._

" _Do you have a reservation?" The sweet clerk had asked with a smile._

" _Yup!" Lucy responded. "It's listed under Lucy Heartfilia."_

 _The clerk raised a suspicious eyebrow at Natsu, clearing seeing how under-dressed he was, but still led them to a table when she found Lucy's reservation._

" _We'll both take the revised version of the ratatouille, please," Lucy said as the waitress took down her and Natsu's order. "We'll also take some black tea as a refreshment."_

" _While you wait for your food to come, here are some complimentary garlic bread as an appetizer!" The waitress beamed as she set a basket of garlic bread that just freshly out of the oven._

 _Natsu tentatively ripped a piece of garlic bread off and slowly brought it to his mouth. Once he did, he was glad he had decided to try it after all._

This is bursting with flavor!

 _He couldn't help but munch on all of the garlic bread, stopping on his third one to gave Lucy a questioning look._

" _It's really okay if you want to eat them all," Lucy answered sweetly as she waved him off. "I'm allergic to garlic, anyhow."_

 _The ratatouille was even better! The chefs had amplified the flavor by baking the ratatouille in some oil from a foreign land he never heard of and then seasoned it with a consolidated batch of spices._

 _Lucy gave him a faint smile as she watched him gobble down his dish. "Take your time, we aren't going anywhere!"_

 _Lucy also thoroughly enjoyed the ratatouille, letting out sighs of delight once it entered her mouth. Eventually, the day went by as the two chatted and ate, finishing their tea with no problem at all._

 _This time, Natsu led the way back to Lucy's apartment._

" _That was some good food!" Natsu said as he stretched his arms._

" _You're telling me!" Lucy agreed as she clutched a take-out bag in her hands. "I'm glad I brought some back for Happy, otherwise he would stay mad at the both of us for going without him."_

 _Natsu nodded. "He wouldn't talk to us for two weeks if we didn't."_

 _The stars twinkled, illuminating Lucy's face as she stopped and stared in awe at them._

" _They're so pretty!" She murmured admiringly._

 _Natsu stopped beside her, looking up but not feeling the same awe and wonder she did but remembering something his father had taught him._

 _Natsu grabbed the bag from Lucy and sat it down on a nearby bench._

" _What are you doing?' She asked, confused._

" _I want to show you something," Natsu replied as he stepped behind her and grabbed one of her hands._

 _He slowly guided Lucy's fingers through constellations. "That's the Big Dipper, that's Orion's Belt, and this is Polaris. It will help you find where you are."_

 _Lucy squinted at Polaris, not understanding why it was so important. "How?"_

" _Polaris, the North Star, can help you find where you are in the world. If you were at the North Pole, Polaris normally would be directly above you. As long as you find Polaris, you'll always know where you are in the world."_

" _How do you find it?" Lucy asked._

" _Simple," Natsu said as he pointed up at the night sky with her finger. "The best way to find Polaris is to use the Pointer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper, Dubhe, and Merak. Just draw a line between those two stars and extend it out roughly five times, and you'll eventually arrive in the vicinity of Polaris."_

" _Wow!" Lucy's eyes sparkled in awe. "How do you know so much about stars?"_

" _My father, Igneel, taught me. He wanted me to be able to look at the night sky and feel a sense of relief so I didn't always feel like the world was against me," Natsu admitted somberly as he gazed up at the night sky._

 _Are you looking down on me, Father?_

 _He was brought back to reality when he felt Lucy's hand intertwine with his own. "That's so sweet!"_

 _Natsu blushed slightly, scratching his cheek nervously. "He was a pretty sensitive guy..."_

 _He glanced around, realizing that they were only a few feet away from her house._

" _We better get going. It's already night out," He pointed out as he reluctantly let go of Lucy's hand and handed her the take-out bag._

 _Lucy swung the bag over her shoulder as they made their way in front of Lucy's apartment. The gentle sound of the water rushing down the stream gave them both a sense of calmness._

" _I guess this is goodbye," Natsu said as Lucy walked up the steps._

 _He turned around and only took one step before Lucy interrupted him._

" _Wait!"_

 _He turned around just in time to see Lucy rush into his arms and hug him tightly._

" _Woah!" He barely managed out as he readjusted his balance. "What's the occasion?"_

 _Lucy buried her face in his chest. "I just wanted to say thank you for today. You really made me happy today!"_

 _Natsu hugged her back, resting his shoulder in the crook of her neck. "I had fun today too."_

 _Lucy pulled back, smiling widely. "See you tomorrow!"_

 _She ran back up the stairs and grabbed the take-out bag she had dropped before running into her apartment and shutting the door._

 _Natsu shrugged._ I'll never understand her...

Natsu loosened his grip on Kage, letting him slump to the floor. "You're right..."

'Hey, dark wizard!" Gray called out. "You're not dead yet, are you?"

"I might as well be..." Kage mumbled before falling unconscious.

Gray sighed. "You never do change, do you, Natsu?"

Natsu shrugged sarcastically. "So sue me."

"On a slightly different note," Gray continued on, "Erza needs us. I can somehow just feel it in my bones."

Natsu gave him a weak glare, not really putting his whole menace into it. "Lucy and Happy are missing! We need to find them first!"

Gray slapped the back of his head. "Idiot! If we find this guy's leader, we'll find where he's holding them hostage!"

 _Oh yeah... that's a good way of thinking..._

Gray gestured towards Kage. "Erza will probably want to integrate him once she spots us. Bring him along."

Natsu hoisted the unconscious dark wizard onto his shoulders before letting Gray lead the way.

 _Lucy, Happy, I_ will _find you. Count on it._

 **TBC.**

* * *

I hope you like this chapter! This took me a while to finish since I had to clean and typeset a chapter of a manga. Beta work for somebody, AND study for my tests. It's been a busy few weeks!

Anyhow, Les Apotres de Pigalle is a real French restaurant in Paris that is ranked the second best in its country. I can't vouch that they'll give you a free appetizer, but I'm pretty sure they have the normal version of ratatouille on their menu.

I went online and researched about the North Star, otherwise known as Polaris. It is a fact that you can find where you are on Earth when you find that particular star.

On a slightly different note, I would like to address something that's been bugging me for a while. Some people have left reviews telling me to remove this story because it "copies" Lyongirl's story. To those people, I would like to say that I will NOT be taking this story down. I actually ENJOY writing this story and while I do notice some similarities between her story and mine, I'm not directly copying her in any way! Our plots are COMPLETELY different, so please stop complaining! I'm pretty sure some people have contacted Lyonsgirl about this, and she hasn't contacted me at all about this "issue." If she does happen to contact me and **politely** asks me to take this story down, I will, but she hasn't because she doesn't think I'm copying her. I will continue to update this series with or without your support, so what you want to do is up entirely to you.


	18. Chapter 18

Before we start, I'd like to respond to a few reviews I've received from my last chapter and now. They warmed my heart so much and really helped motivate me to finish this chapter!

 **Nalulover16** : Awwhhh! Your review almost made me cry! I thought I'd get a lot of hate because of my decision (I was right), but it's nice to see that I've also received support because of it, too. It's people like you who make writing more fun to do and motivate me to continue writing! This chapter is for _you_!

Guest: Haha, I'll be sure to continue! I'm glad that you agree with me that our plots are different; I was having a few doubts myself!

 **NOW FOR THE CHAPTER!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Lucy's Been Kidnapped?!**

"TELL ME HOW TO DEACTIVATE THE TORNADO!"

Those were one of the few choice words to come out of Erza's mouth when she first spotted Kage. She had managed to get him to come back to consciousness to try and get information out of him.

"The method she's using isn't exactly helping us get intel, don't you think?" Grey whispered to Natsu as they both watched her continue to yell and smash her head against the poor dark wizard's.

Natsu nodded in agreement. "She got him to wake up, but at this rate, she's going to knock him out again."

As they spoke, Kage's eyes were beginning to get more daze-like each time she smashed her head against his.

Grey scratched his head thoughtfully. "Should we stop her?"

Natsu gave an indifferent shrug. "You can _try_ to stop her if you want."

They both gave a slight shiver at that thought. "Not a chance."

"Tell us how to deactivate it!" The red-haired wizard hissed, stopping for just a moment to allow him to respond.

Kage's breathing was ragged as he struggled to inhale. "O-Okay… I'll tell you how to deactivate the tornado… just let me go!"

Erza did as he requested and literally let him go, resulting in him crashing to the ground with a thud. "Well, spit it out!"

The dark-haired wizard coughed, taking a few gulps of air to try and steady his breathing before answering. "To deactivate the tornado, you need to-"

He didn't get to finish because a hand suddenly plunged straight through his chest, making a hole where his arteries should be. He let out a gasp before falling to the ground, and everyone else saw a yellow magic circle behind him. A chubby dark wizard in the same guild as he appeared halfway through the circle, the other half of his body in an unknown area.

'H-How could… you… Kusama…?" Kage managed to get out in a grunt before closing his eyes and lying motionless on the ground.

"No!" Grey let out. "He was our only way out of here to save Lucy and Happy!"

He quickly realised his mistake and abruptly shut his mouth. His eyes unconsciously flickered to Natsu to see how he was holding up.

The fire-wielding pink-haired misfit was clutching his fists tightly, visibly shaking with anger. "How could you?! You two were from the same guild, and he trusted you! HOW. COULD. YOU?!"

At this point, Natsu's whole body was engulfed in flames, mad with rage. Predicting what was about to happen, the dark wizard quickly started going back, the top part of his body rapidly dissolving into the circle.

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!" The fire-wielder hissed before throwing a fireball into the magic circle. To his dismay, he was a split second too late; Kusama had already retreated back into his hiding spot.

"Damn it!" He cursed under his breath before slamming his fist down on the floor, gritting his teeth. He couldn't stop the tremors that were visibly shuddering through his body.

 _How am I supposed to save Lucy and Happy now?! Our only way to get to them, Kage, is lying dead on the floor right now! I'm such an idiot, thinking I could take this mission, complete it,_ and _protect Lucy through it all!_

A light pat on his shoulder brought him back to reality, away from his suffering. "It's okay, Papa. Mommy and I are here. There's no need for you to be sad."

He involuntarily spun around, seeing Happy and Lucy standing there. "Y-You're really here?!"

They nodded. "We sure are."

"How?!"

Happy fluttered up and down with a big grin on his face. "Turns out all that dark wizard did was teleport us to the room downstairs. We didn't realise it until we explored for a little while; we ended up getting lost for a good hour or so."

Erza let out a relieved sigh. "We thought you two were really kidnapped and taken to their hideout or the like. We really didn't think it would be as simple as checking downstairs."

Lucy let out a soft chuckle before giving a wary glance at Kage. "Is he… unconscious?"

Natsu gave her a grave, sombre look. "He's actually de-"

He stopped when he realised the gesture she was giving him; a swipe of her finger over her neck, indicating that she wanted him to reconsider his choice of words. He suddenly realised that Happy was still in the room, and he was merely a child.

"What happened to him, Papa?" The flying cat asked with a curious look in his eyes.

"Well… he's..." The pink-haired wizard stuttered. "He's deep into sleep, yeah! That's it!'

Happy cocked his head sideways at him as if questioning his answer but decided better of it. "If you say so..."

He quickly positioned his fingers onto the dark wizard's wrists, letting out a relieved sigh when he felt a pulse still running. _He won't stay alive for much longer if he stays like this…_

Grey cleared his throat, calling for attention. "It's all good and well that you're both safe and sound, but we still need to figure out a way out of here."

The rest of them took a look around them, reality finally dawning on them. He was right; they had to figure out a way out to complete this mission.

"We need to think of a well-thought-out plan to get us—"

Grey never received the chance to finish before Natsu tried full-on throwing himself against the tornado, but all the tornado did was repel him backwards, resulting in him crashing into the ground on his side.

"Aki!" Lucy cried out before rushing to his side. "Are you hurt?!"

He winced as he sat up. "Nothing's broken. I'll survive."

Grey sighed. "That's what happens when you try the idiot approach."

Poor Natsu didn't even have the strength to fight him, so he settled for a glare instead. "What was that?"

The two engaged in a deadly staring contest, their eyes slanted coldly. The atmosphere had suddenly turned violent in a span of a few minutes. Everyone, sans the two louts, began shifting uncomfortably.

"Hey, there's no need to fight!" Happy said as he placed himself between the two of them. "I may have figured out a way to get us out!"

The pink-haired wizard shifted his gaze to the blue demi-cat, softening his glare slightly. "And what is that?"

"The tornado is acting like a barrier, right?" Happy asked for clarification.

"Yes. It's a few feet wide, at the very least. It's surrounding the entire building," Grey itemised as if it were obvious.

"What if we just dug underneath the barrier, then?" Their blue friend enquired. "We'd be able to get out then, right?"

"That's a nice plan," Erza started evenly, "but how are we going to dig a hole that deep?"

"Well…" He began but trailed off. He wore a sheepish look on his face as he turned towards Lucy. "You have that special key that allows you to call on any spirit, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yep, I sure do!"

Officially, the spirits were not slaves to celestial wizards anymore, but the Celestial King had given Lucy a key made of diamond. The spot where the symbol of a spirit would be, however, was blank. He explained to her that she could use that very key to call upon any of the former spirits, but they had a choice to come or not. She hadn't dared to use it yet.

"Why don't you call Virgo?" Happy asked innocently. "She can dig holes, right?"

"She can," Lucy confirmed hesitantly, "but… I don't particularly like the form her master chose for her…"

The nobleman who previously owned Virgo's key was a chubby, over-weight guy that just so happened to have a fetish for weighty, ugly maids. Lucy and Natsu were commissioned to steal a book from him before burning it. During that time, a demi-gorilla barely passing as a human chased them on his behest. They were lucky to make it out alive! It was a surprise how the maid never managed to squish the both of them to bits!

The blonde wizard pulled her key out and shivered, hugging herself. "I'm not sure I want to call her…"

Natsu sighed. "Woman, just shut up and get us out of here! Worry about Virgo later when we're not inside a tornado!"

"Right!" She responded before straightening up beginning the ritual she always did with her past keys. "Open, gate of the Maiden, Virgo!"

Instantaneously, a purple puff of smoke appeared out of nowhere. As it began to dissipate into thin air, a slim purple-haired woman wearing a maid's uniform waited patiently. She looked nothing like the big, ginormous she-man that awaited the former nobleman's orders!

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Lucy asked hesitantly. "I thought I called on Virgo!"

"That is correct," The purple-haired maid responded indifferently. "Would you happen to need my assistance?"

"Wait," Natsu began before heaving himself up from the floor and facing her, "you're Virgo?"

"Indeed," The maid replied. "What can I do for you?"

"We need you to dig us a hole deep enough to get us out of this tornado," The blonde celestial wizard informed her. "Would that be alright with you?"

"Of course, Mistress."

"Would you please not call me that?"

"What would you prefer? Queen?"

"Please don't."

"How about Princess?"

At that, Lucy began to visibly perk up. "I like that! Call me Princess from now on!"

"Then it's settled," The former Zodiac Spirit stated.

"As much as I'd love to stay here and watch you two develop your oh-so-inspiring master-slave relationship, can we put this on the side and get out of here?!" The red-haired wizard hissed, irritated.

"If my mistress commands it," Virgo responded politely.

"Yes, please do!" Her mistress ordered.

"As you wish."

A ring of smoke began to materialise around her, lowering her further and further into the ground. A sound similar to that of what a drill would make accompanied it. Eventually, she vanished from view into the hole she created as she further deepened it.

"Finished!" She called out once the sound of a semi-drill stopped.

"Let's get out of here, then!" Grey eagerly encouraged everyone.

Natsu went to Kage's side and heaved him onto his shoulders to carry him. This earned a few looks from everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Erza hissed once more through clenched teeth. "This isn't the time to be playing games! We need to leave!"

"I'm not leaving without him." He visibly stiffened as he glared coldly at her.

Everyone began to stand on edge, sans Happy and Lucy. An eerie silence passed for several minutes, the only sound audible being the tornado's _whoosh_.

"I know he's our enemy," Natsu started as he tried to defend the dark wizard, "but he's not dead yet. We can still save him. I owe it to him, anyway. He had the chance to hurt both Lucy and Happy and he didn't. He let them live."

Erza eventually let up, slumping her shoulders with a sigh. "Fine, I see your point. Let's just get going now!"

With that, everyone followed keenly after her into the hole. After a few minutes spent being enveloped in the darkness, Virgo finally made a hole upward that led outside, safely away from the tornado.

"Thank you, Virgo!" Lucy thanked her gratefully. "You were so much help!"

"It was my pleasure to serve my new mistress," Her spirit said in response. "If you should need me for any reason, I'm only a key stroke away."

With that, she unmaterialised gradually and faded into thin air, the only indication of her existence being her footsteps. Every person—including the demi-cat—present looked around to survey their surroundings.

"Any clue where we are?" Grey asked, stumped.

"South of the train station," Erza informed him. "If we continue west, we should reach the guild masters' meeting place in no time."

"Then let's be on our way!" Lucy enthusiastically encouraged as she began walking.

"Uh, Lucy?"

"Yes, Grey?"

"West is the other way… you're going east."

"Thank you for telling me!"

She turned around to fix her mistake, and something dawned on her. "Where's Aki?"

Erza glanced around. "Come to think of it, Happy's gone as well, though Kage is still lying unconscious on the ground. They must've left him and ran off."

"WHAT?!" Lucy exclaimed, frantically whipping her head about in an effort to find them. "They were with us when we went down the hole! Where could they have possibly gone in that short amount of time?!"

TBC.

* * *

That's it for now, I'm afraid! I'm sorry for being such a lazywriter and not updating this story in _such_ a long time! I also would like to say that I'll be updating more frequently on Wattpad than on for personal reasons. If you'd like faster releases, try going on Wattpad to see if it's been updated. I have the same username and fan-fiction title as I do on , or you could just go to my profile and click the link I provided there.

Anyhow, I won't make any promise I cannot keep about when I'll update this fan-fiction. Please be patient as I try to eliminate any lingering writer's block! I'm trying to re-watch Fairy Tail so I can get a feel for it once again to help improve my fan-fiction. If any of you have any ideas as to how the plot should progress, please feel free to send them to me! ( ^ ~ ^ )


	19. Chapter 19

"Up ahead, Happy!" Natsu directed Happy. "I see Iragor!"

"Aye! I do, too!" The blue cat confirmed as he put a burst of speed into his flying to help them catch up to the dark wizard.

Currently, Happy was flying the two of them in pursuit of the leader of the Eisenwald guild. Although it pained them both to have to leave Lucy behind, they agreed that it would be best for her to stay so she wouldn't get hurt. Natsu didn't know if he could bear her getting hurt on his account again.

After a few minutes, they were only a few inches away from the notorious dark wizard himself.

"I'm not that far from the town up ahead. Just a little while more and I'll have my revenge," He said to himself, oblivious to his pursuers.

"Oh, no you're not!" Natsu hissed through clenched teeth. Iragor only had enough time to whip his head in their direction before Happy launched the fire-wielding wizard into one of their combo moves, resulting in him quite literally smashing into Iragor. They both went spiralling down, heading straight for the train tracks.

Natsu, already used to doing such dangerous stunts, leapt down onto the train tracks safely. His opponent, on the other hand, went head-first into them. Happy fluttered down soon after, looking so exasperated that Natsu had to catch him in his arms.

"Are you okay?" Natsu asked, noticing the weary look on his friend's face.

"No," Happy replied resignedly. "After all the excitement of today, I don't think I can fight any longer. I'm sorry, but you'll have to manage on your own."

"Now you want to bail on me?!" He whispered crossly. "Go watch from the sidelines, then!"

He set his friend down on a nearby flat rock before turning to face his opponent. "Ready to fight?"

"So, you're one of the Fairy Tail Flies I saw earlier," Iragor snarled at him, brushing off the remains of debris that clung on to his clothes. "How chivalrous of you to confront me."

"Enough with the small talk," The pink-haired wizard hissed in the same tone as before, crouching in a fighting position as his flames started to blaze with fire. "Ready or not, here I come!"

He lunged for the dark wizard, barreling straight toward him. He was repelled by the sudden gust of wind that blew through a magic circle of Iragor's making. He tried to fight it, but he felt himself being pulled back by the sheer power of the wind.

"It's going to take more than that to stop me!" He barely managed to get out. Rather than stay in the wind and try to fight it, his fire propelled him up into the air and he landed straight for his foe.

"What?!" Iragor hissed through clenched teeth. "How could you have gotten out of my gust attack?!"

"I can use my flames for more than just attacking," The Fairy Tail wizard decided to tell him. "I can use it to jump too!"

Before he could land a blow on him, Iragor leapt up and hovered in mid-air. It seems I underestimated him… How can I defeat him?!

"Hey, what are you doing up there?!" The pink-haired wizard yelled furiously. "Come down here and fight me like a man!"

"I'd rather stay up here!" Iragor made a magic circle once more and directed it onto him. "You'll love my new attack!'

In an instant, a tornado appeared, engulfing Natsu. He felt himself begin to twist to the wind's bidding. "Wooooaaahhhh!"

"Papa!" Happy cried out. He tried to fly, but he didn't have enough energy to. He ended up falling back onto the ground with a thud.

Iragor laughed at his pathetic attempt to help his fellow guildmate. "Let's not drag this out, shall we?"

He manipulated his tornado into shifting to the right, and soon, Natsu was rocketed out and down into the endless abyss of rocks.

"WwwwwoooooaaaahhhhhhhH!" He screamed all the way down.

"PAPAAAA!" Happy cried out, tears starting to stream down his face. "NOOOOO!"

This just made the dark wizard smirk. "Let's see your fire get you out of this predicament!"

This is bad! Natsu thought as he quickly descended closer and closer to the ground with every passing second. How can I get out of this?!

After a moment, he soon realised that he couldn't and closed his eyes. He wasn't a dark wizard like Iragor who could somehow fly; he was only a fire-wielding wizard. Sorry, Gramps… and Grey and Erza…

A few memories of the latter flashed through his mind; When they came to get Lucy away from him, when he watched them sit next to Lucy from afar, and when the Fairy Tail Guild Master assigned them this job on the condition he does not kill anyone. I wonder if they'll be able to complete this mission without me? I sure hope so…

But Lucy…

At the very mention of her name, all the memories they shared together rapidly flashed through his mind. A sad smile formed on his lips. Out of everyone, I regret letting her down the most…

He opened his eyes, a fiery passion burning inside him. No! I can't let it end like this! I have to try, at least! I owe it to everything she's done for me thus far!

He made the mistake of looking down and saw that he was only a few feet from the ground. No! I can't die like this!

As if hearing his pleas, his fire erupted from his hands, larger than he ever wielded before. It was enough fire to propel him off the ground and shot him up into the air.

"AHH!" He roared as he was rocketed into the air, slowly falling towards the train tracks. He landed skilfully onto his feet.

"WHAT?!" Iragor spat out. "HOW CAN YOU STILL BE ALIVE?!"

"Fire can do a lot more than burn," Natsu replied evenly, taking slow but sure steps towards him with fire blazing in his eyes and on his wrists.

Happy wiped away his tears with a paw. "Go get 'im, Papa!"

"Y-Your flames are powerless against my wind!" The dark wizard stuttered, taking a few strides back. As soon as the last word left his lips, wind started circling around him, getting faster by the second. In the end, it looked like a tornado had engulfed him but instead of hurting him, it protected him—this was a wind barrier.

"Coward!' The Fairy Tail Wizard shouted. "You go and hide yourself behind a wind barrier to try and hide from me!" He took a few steps forward. "That won't stop me, though!"

He lunged once more, aiming one of his flame-engulfed fist straight for where the dark wizard's head should be. His flames dissipated before they could even touch the barrier.

"W-What?!" Natsu exclaimed. "How can your wind barrier blow away my flames?!"

"My wind is too fast for your fire," The dark wizard sneered, his silhouette looking smug. "So long as I'm behind this wind barrier, you can't touch me!"

How am I going to defeat Iragor then?! The fire-wielding wizard thought irately to himself, his eyes widened in disbelief.

 **TBC.**

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter, but I updated this fan-fiction with the former chapters! Thank you for being so patient with me; I greatly appreciate it!

I also re-edited chapter 6 since I was made aware of the mistakes I made. Feel free to reread that if you want! xD


	20. Chapter 20

I'll quickly respond to a few reviews I've received:

To Guest: She's still the Princess of the Stars, but she doesn't really need to use her powers right now, so I'm not showing her off at the moment. Sorry for any confusion. xD

To Nalulover16: Yep, I agree with you 100%! I'm going to ignore them and focus on the kind reviews I receive from kind people like you. Thank you for giving me your full support; it means a lot! Your reviews always inspire me to update this fan-fiction! xD

* * *

Kage knew by the slight bumps that jolted him awake that he was in a vehicle, and he soon realised it was a magic mobile since there wasn't a wheel within the cargo area. He felt pain grip him at his sides and tighten around his throat. Thankfully, Erza had kept a good supply of first aid inside her magic mobile and Lucy had enough experience to help apply it to him. Though they couldn't do much for him pain-wise, at least he wasn't bleeding to death.

"Where… are we… headin'?" Kage asked hesitantly a few moments after he had regained consciousness.

"To Clover," Grey informed him, not bothering to look at him as he did so. He continued to stare out the window, watching the blur of mountains and towns pass him by, with his arms crossed.

"Why would you take me—oww!" Kage hissed near the end. He had thoughtlessly decided to sit up instead staying in the same position and paid the price for it.

"Try not to move too much," Lucy instructed him as she eased him onto her lap. His face began to redden, but he couldn't find the words to object.

He didn't like feeling so hopeless, so he decided to act cold and distant. "Why are you all taking me to Clover?"

"Because it's where the guild masters are gathering, dimwit," The ice wielder snapped back harshly.

"No, I mean why are you taking _me_?" The dark wizard rephrased his question. "Are you planning on taking me hostage? If so,you'rethe only dimwit here."

"And why is that?" Grey asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

The soft sensation of Lucy's hand on his head helped him come clean. "Master Iragor couldn't care less about me. You saw how he was willing to kill me off to protect the guild so easily; if you kidnapped me only to ransom me, I'm sorry to say that you've wasted your time."

"Not to worry," The blonde celestial wizard reassured him gently. "We didn't kidnap you at all. Aki saw how you weren't dead and brought you with us. Unfortunately, he isn't here with us—neither is our feline friend."

Kage didn't miss the sad notion that entered her voice—more than likely compulsorily—when she talked about the two people dear to her heart. _I wish I could be one of them…_

He shook his head in an effort to cleanse himself of these impure thoughts. _No! No matter what Master Iragor did, I still have to carry out my mission! I made a vow to uphold the mission, even at the cost of my life; a pretty girl won't change that!_

"Seems like he's soft," He tried to make his voice as emotionless and apathetic as possible in an effort to keep his defences up. "Someday, that'ill get him killed."

The two Fairy Tail Wizards let out a laugh. Grey's was more of a cacophony of snorts while Lucy's high-pitched laughter was full of mirth and blended together like notes in a beautiful ciphony. _I'd do anything to hear her laughter for the rest of my life…_

"Dragneel is anything _but_ soft," The Ice Wielder informed him after he had finished laughing. "Say that to his face and he'll show you why."

Kage sighed, either unsure or unwilling to speak further. They rode the rest of the way in a steady silence, broken only by the occasional updates of where they were from Erza.

* * *

 _How can I beat him?!_ Natsu thought angrily to himself. His eyes blazed with the same fire that now enveloped his fists.

" _Fire can do a lot more than burn."_

That phrase was stuck in his head, as if it was trying to tell him something. _If you want to tell me something, just tell me! Don't give me some stupid riddle to decipher!_

"So, how does it feel being defeated?" Iragor snarled behind his wind barrier.

The anger he tried so hard to suppress suddenly resurfaced, adding more flames to his fire. He saw red for a split second before he lunged at his wind barrier, trying so hard to break it.

He was flung a few feet away almost immediately by the wind barrier, tossing him as if he were nothing more than a mere fly. He gritted his teeth as he tasted the burning taste of bile at the back of his throat.

"You're nothing more than a Fairy Tail Fly," The dark wizard insulted him, "but even flies know to scurry away when they're not welcome. Get lost."

His anger threatened to overwhelm him, so he clenched his fists and tried hard to focus on his breathing. _In, out… in, out…_

His flames cooled slightly, flickering with the wind. _I can't let Iragor beat me… I have too many people counting on me!_

 _I can't just man-handle his barrier and attack it ruthlessly, though… What do I do?!_

" _Fire can do a lot more than burn."_

He opened his eyes, blinking a few times in realisation. _That's right! I've used fire for more than just burning—I helped create a fire to warm Lucy and Happy when we camped out in the forest, I helped Lucy dry her hair more than once, and I even used it to protect the ones I love!_

If I can just use my fire to continue protecting the ones I love…

"Papa!" Happy cried out, reaching out his hand towards him. "Just think of Mama and how her fire doesn't just burn, but also protects and warms!"

It was more than just how her fire warmed him that made him want to protect her. Her fire was contagious to him; when her fire was ignited with passion, his became ignited with passion soon afterwards. It wasn't just contagious for him, either; everyone else in the guild felt the same way, too. He smiled as he closed his eyes and focused on making his fire protect the people he loved most.

He thought of how Lucy protected the people she cared most of all with her fire and how everyone else used their abilities to do the same. Since Lucy entered his life, he had a few new "friends" he could count on to help calm him down—Grey, Erza, Levy, and, surprisingly, Gajeel and Juvia. Even if at first they only looked at him with fear and hatred, they now looked at him with concern and wishes to help. That was all thanks to Lucy and her showing them how he wasn't the monster everyone made him out to be. He just hoped that the rest of the guild would soon feel the same as they did.

 _If I give up now, I'll never be able to face her or the guild ever again!_

Natsu opened his eyes suddenly and looked at the fire around him. Instead of the red, scorching fire that normally enveloped his fists and blazed in his eyes, a blue, soft, warm fire circled around his fists, not enveloping them, and also circled above his head like a halo.

As his resolve to defeat Iragor to protect his guild straightened, the fire grew bigger and bigger until it formed a semi-tornado beside him that was the same height as Iragor's wind barrier. He forced it towards the wind barrier with a flick of his wrist, and soon, the two semi-tornados began duking it out.

His tornado soon began to tear apart the wind barrier, sucking up the barrier like a vaccum would to trash, and formed a hole through which Natsu could see Iragor's shocked expression. "W-WHAT?! How can you break through my wind barrier?!"

"Fire can do a whole lot more than burn!" He repeated his earlier statement with a smirk.

"E-Even so, you can only wield fire!" The dark wizard stuttered, his eyes widening. "Wind should always defeat fire, no matter what! MY tornado should be destroying YOURS!"

Natsu gave him a slight smile. "Oh, I think I know the reason for that. Your tornado that served as your wind barrier was only created to protect _you_ , but _my_ tornado was created to protect my guild and everyone I loved. I'm afraid your tornado can't compete with mine!"

He was right—his tornado was slowly but surely sucking up the wind barrier and dissipating it into the air. It only took a few more moments until Iragor's wind barrier completely disappeared, leaving only a small gust of wind to acknowledge that it ever existed.

"H-Hey, surely we can work this out?" The dark guild master asked hesitantly, putting his hands up in surrender as Natsu took a few steps towards him.

"Papa, he isn't worth it!" Happy cried out when he saw the pink-haired fire wielder raise a fire-engulfed fist high up in the air. The poor cat had seen that very same motion be used by Natsu before he killed his opponents.

Rather than try to injure him beyond help, Natsu made his fire extinguish itself and let his bare fist thump against the dark wizard's head, immediately causing Iragor to fall unconscious. _We can take him back to get questioned by the guild masters later._


	21. Chapter 21

Kage and the three Fairy Tail wizards arrived at Clover with no time to spare. Lucy brought him to a doctor's office-a doctor she personally knew. She didn't explain how she knew the doctor, but despite the sympathetic look she gave Lucy, Kage could tell he didn't want her to.

After Lucy left for a second to go get something the doctor needed, the doctor began to undo his bandages. "How is she doing these days?"

"Huh?" The dark wizard asked, blinking in confusion. _Does she think I know Lucy?_

"Lucy, the blonde girl you were with," She explained as she looked at his wounds with a look of concern. "Has she been all right?"

"Yes, far as I know, ma'am," Kage answered as honestly as he could, stiffening and trying hard to stifle his yelps as the professional tentatively began to poke his wounded areas with an unsharpened pencil.

"Please, call me Laura," The doctor requested of him casually as she retracted her pencil when she was finished checking his wounds. She then proceeded to stand up and make her way to her desk. "Any friend of Lucy's is already a friend of mine."

"You must have lots of friends, thanks to her," The black-haired wizard joked half-heartedly, rubbing his wounds when she wasn't looking.

Laura opened a specific drawer as she began to rummage through it. She let out a snort when he finished. "Sadly, she doesn't seem to have a lot of friends, or at least none that I've seen until you came. Poor thing must be scared to death at the thought of having to become close to anyone else."

"'Anyone else'?" He repeated uncertainly. "What does that mean?"

She straightened before heading towards him, an unfamiliar ointment in one hand and bandages in the other. "She never told you? I thought she would, given that you're her friend."

Kage winced as the doctor began to apply alcohol to his wounds first, wiping it thoroughly with a clean rag. "I've known that girl since she was born. In fact, I was there with her mother to help deliver her. Her father had previously hired me as their personal doctor, which I was for almost two decades. If I'd known what I was going to be treating, I'd have declined his "generous" offer." She bent her fingers into quotation marks at the word _generous_. "Albeit I had my fair share of futilely trying to treat Lucy's mother, I've had _more_ than my fair share of having to treat Lucy for little "accidents," as her father called them. Broken bones, blackened and swollen-shut eyes, you name it, I've more than likely been forced to treat the unfortunate abused child for it."

"Why stay, then?" He found himself asking, mentally kicking himself the next moment for being so blunt and direct with his curiosity. "S-Sorry… You don't have to answer if you don't want to…"

"No, it's all right," She murmured quietly as she stopped cleaning his wounds, startled as much as he was by his sudden frankness. Her eyes were widened in surprise. "I stayed for her. I was planning to leave soon after I had started, after seeing how brutally abusive her father was, but I was there for her mother's last words. She pleaded with me to promise her that I'd watch over her daughter in her stead. That's the only reason I stayed for nearly two decades."

"Did her mother know?"

"I think she didn't _want_ to know," Laura began after a hesitant moment, clearly choosing her words carefully, "but I think she had her suspicions. It was always her who took Lucy to me when she had a new injury, after all." More so, she was in love with her husband, though she never admitted it. Mothers don't want to believe that their husbands would ever harm their child."

The dark wizard clamped his lips shut, but he felt them begin to twitch. Even his fists, clutched tightly on his knees, began to tremble. _How can_ she _, a girl so virtuous and selfless, be forced to endure such an indecency?!_

"I'm glad she's fine, however," The young doctor continued, this time more cheery and bright. Unsettlingly so. "She has a friend like you who cares so much about her. When I quit, subsequently after she had just run away from her father, she helped me find this high-paying job that I actually enjoy. She was only sixteen then, but seemed a whole lot older. I remember the day she had come in to help me settle into my new job. Once we had finished, she turned around and went to the door before she stopped, giving me a curt goodbye. Her shoulders were slumped with a weight I could never begin to understand."

"When she ran away," He asked hesitantly, "where did she go? Was she all right?"

Before Laura could answer, they were interrupted with the sudden opening of the door. Lucy's head came into view as she smiled at them, holding an herbal salve in her hand. "I found what you were looking for earlier! Sorry for taking so long; I had trouble finding it."

"That's fine," Laura assured her, her gaze resting soothingly on Lucy like a mother's would. She then got up, her eyes widening as she placed a hand on her cheek. "Oh, dear me, I forgot I had to do something else! Would you mind filling in for me and wrapping new bandages around his wounds after putting the ointment and salve on them? Thanks!"

Before Lucy could respond, she was up and out the door so quickly, he had to blink in confusion for a split second. Seeing as it was no use to disobey her, the blonde wizard sighed and strode over to him, sitting where the doctor had sat. She finished cleaning his wounds with a rag rather quickly,

He clutched his hands behind his back, willing himself not to yelp as she started to apply the ointment to his wounds. His curiosity got the best of him. "Did you run away when you were sixteen?"

She jumped, startled at his sudden question. "Y-Yes. I suppose she told you that, huh?"

"She… may have mentioned it, yes…"

She heaved a sigh, closing her eyes as she did. "When I was sixteen, I ran away from home to a few friends I knew. They already knew my predicament, so they helped me get on my feet by getting me a job as a magazine reporter's assistant. I didn't like it much, but it helped me get a place of my own for the time being. Anyhow, I didn't have to work in that job for much longer—Aki and Happy found me soon after and took me to the Fairy Tail Guild."

 _That… would make her around seventeen or so now, huh?_

She smiled at him, but now that he was aware of her sadness, he couldn't ignore it naively as he had done before. He found himself unconsciously putting a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "You must have been scared to leave everything you've ever known."

Her eyes widened for a moment in shock again before curving as tears began to brim in her eyes. They began to stream freely down her face as she glomped him, almost knocking the two of them down. He shifted his balance enough to prevent that and hugged her back, letting his hand gently stroke her hair.

"It-It was so hard," She stuttered in between sobs. "I just could-couldn't stand it anymore. I wanted it to st-stop. He was w-worse after my mother passed away, bla-blaming me for her death. I drugged his afternoon te-tea one day by distracting t-the maid and ran away in the dead of night, ne-never looking back. I don't re-regret it, but it's still so sa-sad for me to re-remember!"

He gently wiped away her tears with one of his fingers, holding her as she trembled with sobs. "And if you hadn't made that difficult decision, you wouldn't have met Natsu, Grey, Happy, or even Erza."

 _You wouldn't have met me, either,_ he thought to himself bitterly, too afraid to voice his feelings.

Lucy nodded feebly. "Th-That's right. I lo-love them a lot."

They heard a knock on the door, followed by Erza's voice. "Lucy? Is Kage all finished? We need to be going."

The blonde wizard quickly wiped her remaining tears away, grabbing a clean towel and lightly wiping any trace of her tears. Save for her bright red cheeks and eyes, she looked fine. _No one'd be the wiser._

She opened the door and let Grey and Erza in. "Sorry, but Kage isn't all bandaged up. It took me a long time to find the right salve."

Grey let out an exasperated sigh. "Just leave him! That doctor is coming back, right? She'll take care of him for Dragneel while we go. We need to hurry if we're going to find the guild masters in time!"

The blonde girl gave Kage a worried look. "Will you be all right until she comes back?"

He nodded and gave her a smile. "I'll manage somehow. Just hurry up and fix my guild's mess, okay?"

She nodded, her eyes radiant and confident as a soft chuckle escaped her lips. "Sure thing!"

The three sprinted from the room, so caught up in their plans that they forgot to shut the door. _What major idiots, as to be expected from the Fairy Tail Guild._

Rather than go through the door and attract attention, Kage soundlessly opened a nearby window and jumped out, wincing as he landed, his wounds responding in kind to unfairly being stretched so soon after being treated. _I have to finish this mission, no matter what!_

* * *

A/N: Wow. I didn't really know at first what I was going to write this chapter about, but somehow this idea formed in my head. In case you're wondering why I'm focusing on the Kage x Lucy ship, you'll find out sometime in the next few chapters. (Don't worry, I still love Natsu x Lucy. Kage x Lucy never actually happens for real.)

On slightly less relevant news, I'd like to say that I won't be updating this fan-fiction until January. I have multiple end-of-course and state exams coming up that I have to study for and I cannot spare any time to write. Sorry, but I can't control exam dates! Please don't hate me for it! ( ; ^ ; )

Until next time, please keep leaving your lovely reviews! They really inspire me to write prompts, and who knows? Maybe I might say "To heck with it!" and write a new chapter anyways despite being forced to study. _Maybe_!

 _ **Your lazy author, Kartara, signing off!**_


	22. Chapter 22

Kage stumbled through a dense forest, limping slightly due to his wounds. _I should have stolen a map…_

Previously, he had escaped from the doctor's office and went to the hiding place of the Lullaby, a deadly flute his master had pilfered from a noble. He had it tucked securely in one of his many bandages and loosely threw on his shirt before leaving the office. He was now heading towards the meeting place of the guild masters. Unfortunately, he was lost inside one of the many forests of Clover.

 _The doctor's office was near Clover, so I must be close… Where could it be?_

A kissing sound came from out of nowhere, making him jump. "Awhh, these girls are so pretty! I don't know who is my favorite…!"

 _Wait, that's a person!_ He thought eagerly as he limped faster toward the direction of the voice. _Maybe they can help me find out where the guild masters are meeting!_

"Wizards these days put their magic to good use when they use it to enhance their beauty," The stranger continued talking to himself.

 _What is he talking about?_

Kage pushed through an overgrowth of bushes and a person popped into view. "Hello, I was hoping you could—"

The person—a tiny, three-foot-tall old man with all-grey hair, jumped to alert from his seat on a rock. "I-I wasn't doing anything untoward! I was only reading this magazine for… research, yeah! To better relate to the younglings!"

The dark wizard immediately recognized the magazine the old man was clutching tightly to his chest as one of the many sexually-degrading-to-women magazines that featured wizard models practically wearing nothing. If he had to guess, this old man was a pervert.

"I didn't see anything," He half-heartedly lied, "so can you help me find where—"

He stopped talking abruptly as his eyes widened in recognition of the old man. _He's Fairy Tail's guild master—Makarov!_

"You needed help?" The old guild master quickly switched topics, hiding the magazine amateurishly behind his back.

"Yes," Kage answered. He pulled out his flute, holding it out for him to see. "I have an original song I'd like to play for you to critique. I'm in desperate need of criticism."

The "original song" was the lullaby that should lull him into a deep sleep, never to wake up, but he needn't know that, Kage amended in his head.

Makarov heaved a sigh, throwing the magazine over his shoulder before shifting his gaze to him. "If that's all, I'm sure I can help."

"Thank you," The dark wizard showed his gratitude. "Do you want to request a song first before I show you my original work?"

It was customary for musicians to play a well-known or, at least, existing piece to prove they had the skill to actually play the instrument. It was a warm-up of sorts for both the listener and musician. Plus, albeit the dark wizard didn't want to admit it to himself, he didn't want to kill the poor man just yet. The lullaby only worked when its user used one particular song that enhanced its effects. Any other song would just slightly make a person sleepy.

"Sure, I don't see why not," The old man mused out loud. "I'm not picky; any ol' song will do."

He pondered what to play for a moment before settling on one of his favorite songs; a lullaby he learned when he was young and naïve. His own mother used to play it for him when he had another one of his sleepless nights.

He played slowly and uncertainly at first, but quickly became surer and more precise with his notes as the song progressed. He closed his eyes, still playing, as he was transported back to one of his childhood memories.

" _Mama, mama!" He had wailed, sitting upright in his bed. He was rubbing his eyes as he wept with reckless abandon.  
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" His mother asked gently once she opened his door, her eyebrows slightly arched upward in concern. She walked over quietly to his bed and took a spot next to him.  
"I-I had a dream," He said in between sobs, "t-that you… you… d-died!"_

" _There, there," She murmured soothingly, rubbing his back. "It was just a nightmare."_

" _But it seemed so vivid!" Young Kage exclaimed fearfully, wrapping his arms around his mother tightly. "It was almost as if I were there to see you die!"_

 _His mother nestled him closer, running her fingers through his hair. "I'm not going anywhere without you. Death itself cannot tear me apart from you."_

 _He wept even more, but his tears this time were happy ones, not sad ones. Once he had quieted down, his mother wore a thoughtful expression when he told her he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep._

" _Would you like me to play you a song to help you sleep?" She suggested._

" _Can you?" He asked eagerly, his fears forgotten, at least for the moment. His eyes sparkled in a way only a child's could._

 _She patted his head lightly as she let out a soft chuckle. "I haven't played in a while, but I'll try. My songs have been known to lull people to sleep."_

 _With that, she left the room to grab her flute. Once she had found it, she came back to his room and took her seat back next to him. He rested his head on her shoulder, closing his eyes as he let his mother's beautiful music envelop him._

 _Once the song was finished, his mother looked to find him fast asleep. His light snores heaved from his tiny chest every few moments, blowing away a strand of loose hair from his face only to let it fall back to its original position._

 _She smiled as she tucked him into bed, turning off all the lights sans for a tiny little globe that glowed in the dark that served as his nightlight. She kissed his forehead before leaving. "Good night, my dearest."_

He finished the song, hitting all the right notes, and opened his eyes to reality. "Now that you've heard that, would you like to hear my original piece?"

"Wait," Makarov ordered as he put out a hand, closing his eyes. "You did ask to hear my thoughts, did you not?"

"Yes," The dark wizard started hesitantly, "but only on my original piece—"  
"I'll give you my thoughts on this piece as well," The guild master said over him.

Seeing as there was nothing he could do to change the old geezer's mind, he sat down on a nearby rock and sighed resignedly. _This is going to be a long talk._

"That piece is a classic from Mozart, one of the many he made that withstood the test of time," The old man began to prattle. "It gives the sense of motherly love, since the song's notes are close to that of a lullaby's, but also a somber sadness. You conveyed the motherly love and soothing notes perfectly with that performance.

"You remind me of a certain other musician," He continued. "She's a member of my guild, Fairy Tail. She can't play an instrument to save her life, but she has a beautiful voice."

"And how am I at all similar to her?" Kage asked dryly and somewhat sarcastically.

"Because both of you use different elements of music to convey the true meaning of the song," The guild master answered sensibly. "She uses her voice, but not an instrument, and you use an instrument, but not your voice. There are lyrics that need to be sung and measures to play for both of your choices of music that sound better put together, but somehow, neither of you needs the other part to succeed in conveying the message the composer originally intended for the song."

"So, you're saying we should join together to make our songs better?" The dark wizard asked sarcastically once more, leaning his chin on his hand and propping his elbow onto his knee.

"No," The old man answered back curtly, shooting him a glare. He obviously caught on to his sarcasm. "The girl I'm talking about has been through a lot, yet still has the courage to trust people with all that she is. She helped one of our most terrifying and unapproachable members to become slightly more aware of his effect on people. He's trying to change… for her. The songs she sings makes everyone else want to try better, to give more like she does.

"You have a sadness to your eyes that cannot be easily hidden by sarcasm or callousness. I can sense that you, too, have also been through a lot in the young years you've lived. It molded you into the person you are and influences how you play."

Kage jumped to alert, sitting straight. "H-How did you know?!"  
Makarov just shrugged. "I can feel your sadness through your music. It's as plain as night and day."

He clenched his hands into fists, one around the flute, as he began starring at the ground. "And would you be so kind as to tell me the name of the girl of which you're speaking?"

"Her name is Lucy Heartfilia."

Suddenly, all his anger towards the old geezer vanished at the sound of her name. He straightened and stared straight at him, blinking in realisation.

They said nothing for what seemed like an eternity, but really was just a minute. They let the wind wisp past them, the gentle whoosh of their passing soft to their ears.

"I think I understand what you mean now," Kage murmered softly.

"I knew you would," Makarov said with a slight smile. "You may look like a youngster, but your mind is much older than people of your age. Not a lot of people would understand what I meant that easily."

His clenched fist around the flute began to tremble. _C-Can I really go through with murdering this kind old man?! Though it is for the good of our guild, I don't think I have the heart to do it!_

 _Do it,_ a familiar voice he knew all too well whispered inside his head. He had to close his eyes to suppress the headache coming on. _For the sake of your mother's life._  
That voice was the voice of one of the few telepathiers that resided in Eisenwald, no doubt following Iragor's every order.

The anger that had momentarily resided now came back full-force. _And why should I?_

 _To save your mother,_ the voice answered back matter-of-factly. _Don't you care about her?_

 _We both know that my mother can't be saved anymore,_ He hissed back in his head. _You all killed her a long time ago._

Albeit it hurt his heart to say it, he had to come to terms with reality someday. He didn't want to believe it, but reality didn't care whether he did or not; it was cruel in its rigid certainty.

 _So, you found out._

The dark wizard dropped his wand on the ground. _Yes, and now you'll find that I won't be your willing puppet any longer. Find someone else to manipulate._

He mentally broke the tie he had with Eisenwald, ceasing any connection he had to his former guild. When he opened his eyes, he jumped back in surprise.

"L-Lucy?!" He stuttered out, blinking a few times to confirm she was really there. She was there, in all her beauty, flanked closely behind by Erza and Grey.

"You…," She started, staring at the wand before shaking her head and shifting her gaze to him, "You chose not to kill our master, though you could've. Why?"

He opened his mouth to answer honestly, but the sound of fluttering winds silenced him for a moment longer. Happy popped into view soon after, holding Natsu, who appeared to be holding a limp body.

 _No,_ He corrected himself, staring at the limp body more closely, _not just any body… It's Iragor! He really did manage to disarm him!_

"Aki!" Lucy called out, clutching her hands close to her chest as she broke into a smile. Kage felt his heart begin to break. _He's the one she loves…_

" _Sorry_ for being late," Natsu sarcastically apologized as he jumped down near her. "I had trouble disarming this guy."

"I'm just glad both of you are okay," Lucy softly murmured as she took a few steps closer to Happy and Natsu.

"Yeah, yeah, we're all glad to see each other," Grey spat out sarcastically, rolling his eyes as he folded his arms across his chest. "Can we get back to the matter at hand now?"

"Oh, right," The blonde wizard replied back apologetically before turning her attention to the dark wizard. "You could've killed our master and then moved on to the rest of the guild masters, but you didn't. Why?"

If she had asked a mere moment before Natsu arrived, he would have been completely honest and told her that she was the only reason he decided not to, but he decided a half-truth would be best. "I only worked for them on the false pretense they could resurrect my mother with dark magic. I only just confirmed my suspicion that my mother couldn't be resurrected. She already died a long time ago."

"I'm glad you changed your mind," Lucy admitted, clearly relieved.

"That's settled, then," Natsu stated plainly. "Now, about Iragor—"  
At the sound of his name, the notorious dark wizard himself jerked up from his slouched position on a tree. He was tied up with some rope that the fire wielder had gotten from who-knows-where. "And what do you plan to do with me, Fairy Tail Fly?"

"That's what we're trying to decide," Natsu snapped back at him. "Now shut up and let the adults do the talking."  
The moment he turned his back on Iragor and turned towards Lucy, Iragor snapped back up and put his hands together. How did he manage to get them free?!

"You ruined my plan to conquer all the guilds," The dark guild master started in a low hiss, "and now I'll make you pay!"  
"Bring it on, old geezer!" Natsu fired back, getting into a fighting stance as he flung his arm protectively in front of Lucy. "If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get!"

This didn't escape the dark wizard's notice. "No, that's not what I want. I want to make you pay dearly, but not with your _own_ life!"

He swiftly made a dark magic circle appear at the palm of his hand and he directed it in the direction of Lucy before using his other hand to fling Natsu into a nearby tree. She stood there like a terrified deer caught in a headlight. _Oh no, he's going to kill her for that idiot's mistake!_

Kage found himself moving involuntarily towards her, pushing her out of the way. He felt a piercing pain cut into his stomach before letting out a grunt and falling to the ground. His vision suddenly began to become blurry. He heard someone saying his name over and over, but distantly.

 _Kage..! Kage…!_

* * *

UPDATE: OMG, I can't believe I got the chapters mixed up! I already received a few reviews that were confused and I went to go check why. I spoiled what happened in the next chapter by being an idiot and disorganizing my chapters. I'm so sorry!

A/N from before: Heyyy! Sorry for not updating this, but my exams just finished and I had a break with some free time to write! I'm actually starting to enjoy writing these chapters a lot! It's not that I never enjoyed writing these (I have), but usually, it takes a long time for me to come up with a new chapter. Nowadays, new ideas easily come to me. I'm not sure how long this will last, but I'll try writing as many chapters as I can before I lose this feeling!

Anyhow, the next chapter will have a bit of Kage x Lucy fluff, so feel free not to read that and wait for chapter 24, which will include the P.O.V. of Natsu. In that chapter, you'll see why I hinted towards a Kage x Lucy ship. Don't worry, however; Lucy x Natsu is the only true pairing in this fanfiction. Any other ones are just temporary.


	23. Chapter 23

"KAGE!" Lucy screamed out, catching him backward and slowly bringing him to the ground. She rested his head on her folded lap. She immediately began to assess his injuries, hoping for a small fraction of a miracle to only let there be minor injuries. Unfortunately, her wishes weren't granted; his old wound had opened back up, and due to the impact Iragor's spell made, it was much larger. It was pouring blood so fast that her skirt was drenched in it.

 _He can't survive this…!_

"Serves him right," Iragor sneered, somewhat satisfied with what he had done. "He was a traitor."

"You… bastard!" Natsu hissed, getting up from where Iragor had flung him. "You tried to kill Lucy and then succeeded in killing your guildmate, and you don't feel a shred of remorse?!"

"Why should I?" He asked rhetorically. "He never was a very good wizard, anyhow. He just slowed the rest of us down."

Natsu lunged at him with his fists engulfed with flames, but Lucy didn't have time to see what the result was when Kage coughed involuntarily. A trickle of blood started to omit from his mouth as he tried opening his eyes. She noticed that his eyes had a faraway look in them, as if he wasn't looking at reality. "Lucy, is that you?"

Tears welled up in her eyes and then fell, leaving a shiny streak behind. "Yes, it's me. Your injuries…" She couldn't finish her sentence so she just hung her head low, her tears beginning to gather around her chin before falling down on Kage.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to cry all over you…" She quickly apologized, lifting a hand to wipe her tears away but Kage stopped her with his own hand.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her as he pushed her hand down and began wiping her tears away with his hand. He only stopped when he began coughing.

Lucy helped him sit upright and patted his back to help ease his coughing fit. It worked and he eventually stopped. This one was slightly longer than his last coughing fit.

"I should get you to a doctor—" She began, moving him to the ground and trying to get up but he stopped her.

"Don't," He pleaded with her, grabbing her wrist. He pulled her back down. "I want you here for my last moments because I need to tell you something."

She reluctantly obeyed him, knowing that it was probably useless to go get a doctor when his injuries were so grave, and set his head back on her lap.

He opened his mouth to say something, but then he went into another coughing fit. This one had him sputtering blood all over the place and took several minutes for him to calm down, and once he finished, he looked smaller and weaker. _He really is suffering…_

"Listen," He whispered urgently. "I've been wanting to say this from the moment you first spoke to me, in the magic mobile, and I don't have much time left to do it." He lifted his hand up to cup her cheek. "Lucy, I… love you. I'm not the type to believe in love at first sight, and I still don't, but I believe now that love can start from an encounter. We may not have met under the best circumstances, but I'm glad we met nonetheless.

"Take your time. I'll miss you, but enjoy your time here. We'll meet again someday." He barely got that sentence out—since his voice was so hoarse and soft—before he gasped for air and fell still. His eyes lost their light and his hand went limp, falling to his chest. He was gone.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

A/N: I mixed the chapters up and put this as chapter 22 when really it was chapter 23. I'm sorry for anyone who got confused!

 **If you read this before but were confused, read chapter 22 to have a better understanding!**

This chapter may not have been the best chapter I've ever written, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless! Thank you all for being patient with me!

Until next time!

 _ **Your lazy writer, Kartara, signing off!**_


	24. Chapter 24

Natsu glanced down at the people below from his vantage point on the rafters, worrying about Lucy but not letting it show. They had arrived at their guild the day after they had informed all the guilds of what had transpired. He had knocked Iragor unconscious—though it took him a lot of niceness to do that for the second time—instead of killing him, like he would have wanted to, and handed him over to a guard from the kingdom to be taken to jail.

That wasn't the most troubling part of his journey, however. That was when he was helpless to do anything but watch as Lucy screamed her heart out. He closed his eyes as he remembered that day.

 _"NOOOOOOOO!"_

 _He turned around to the scream, feeling as if it were familiar and unfamiliar all at once. He was hunched over Iragor's unconscious body, having knocked him out once again, and all trace of menace he had faded away when he looked at Lucy. She held Kage in her arms, her mouth open as if she were going to scream again but all that came out was a sad, pitiful, strangled sound. She clamped her lips together and began rocking them back and forth as she whispered 'no' over and over again._

 _He had never seen her so… vulnerable. Broken. She got hurt, yes, but he was always sure she could get back up after a short while. Now, he wasn't so sure. He took a step towards her, wanting to go comfort her, but Grey stopped him with an outstretched hand._

 _"No, don't go over there," he advised him. "Let her be. She needs to be alone for now."_

He had done exactly as his friend had told him to and not bother Lucy. The other two wizards—Grey and Erza—followed suit and left her alone. Even Happy seemed to have taken the hint and relatively kept away from her, though he did try to cheer her up on multiple occasions to no avail.

All Natsu could think about when they first arrived was the declaration Kage had made when he confessed his feelings for Lucy. Natsu had always wondered about love, but until then, he never really showed an interest in it. It was clear to anybody who saw that Kage really did love her, and Natsu knew he loved her as much, if not _more_ , than the dark wizard did, but he was afraid to show it for fear that he'd only hurt her instead.

 _She deserves a person like that,_ he had thought to himself bitterly that day. _Someone who is not afraid to show they love her._

 _Yes,_ _she deserves a person like that,_ a voice in his head had agreed, _and you can become that person! First, you need to learn what love is and how to properly show it to someone. Why not start by trying to show some degree of affection to Happy?_

He listened to his own advice and tried showing his love to Happy by grilling his fish and helping him when he needed him to, like when he needed help practicing new moves, without complaining like he normally did. He even began teaching the little cat how to fish on his own by buying him a fishing rod and taking him down to the lake early in the afternoon. Happy became… well, happy, thanks to all the bonding they did.

Today, though, he was going to try showing his love in a different way. It had been a few days since they came back, and still, Lucy showed no sign of getting better. She slept late into the day and fell asleep late, if she fell asleep at all. She was always distracting herself with something, whether it be her writing, reading, or practicing her celestial magic. He wanted to talk to her before she became distracted and try to comfort her, so when she first came into the guild, he jumped down immediately and went to go greet her. Unfortunately, he was stopped by a pesky person.

"NATSUUU!" The pesky person, who he publicly referred to as Leech, cried out before throwing herself against him. "I've been so worried about you! You didn't even send me a letter or anything about how you were doing! I was fearing for the worst!"

 _She is_ really _starting to get on my last nerve…!_

He wanted to throw her against a wall, but then he saw Lucy and remembered something she once told Happy.

 _"Mama," Happy had begun as they sat around a campfire in the forest, "why do people accept the worst kinds of love?"_

 _"Huh?" She asked, blinking in confusion. "Where did this come from?"_

 _"I was thinking about how your dad treated you. I thought a father always loved his daughter, but seeing the two of you, I wasn't so sure," he told her sadly. "To think that you had to accept that kind of love for so long makes me sad. Why did you do it?"_

 _"Well…" She began but trailed off, averting her gaze for a second. She looked up when she finally had her answer. "People accept the love they think they deserve. To first love, you must accept love in turn. Otherwise, you'll just "love" people the same way you were loved and further an endless cycle of hurt."_

He blinked, coming back to reality. Lucy had an expression of anxiety on her face, no doubt thinking that he'll hurt Lisanna. He wanted to show her that he changed, though, and instead chose to wrap his arms around the white-haired girl in an awkward hug.

"Sorry," He apologized sincerely to Lisanna. "Thanks for worrying about me."

He didn't think he was worthy of love yet, and maybe that's why he pushed Lucy away at times, but he wanted to be the type of person who _was_ worthy of love. Albeit, he couldn't do it by himself. He would first need to accept love from people who were willing to show it to him.

He looked to Lucy, wanting to have made her happy, but she hung her head low and walked past them, picking an isolated table to sit at. It seemed as if all he managed to do was upset her even more.

 _What did I do wrong?_

* * *

UPDATE 2/1/18: Okay, I had to rewrite parts of this. A very nice person informed me that this chapter wasn't very concise and was a a bit confusing to read since I jump around with the time. If you're still confused, read this:

Natsu is reflecting back on everything that has happened since the Eisenwald Incident for the first half of the chapter. The second half of the chapter is present-time except for the part where he recalls what Lucy said.


	25. Indefinite Hiatus

I'm going on an indefinite hiatus for all of my fan-fictions. Right now, I just can't write.

I usually write and then save the word document on my flash drive. I've never had a problem with this until now. I sometimes upload all the files onto my GDrive every once in a while as a backup but due to school, I didn't have any time to do that.

I wish I did.

My cousin broke my flash drive and I tried repairing it, but it's physically broken. The USB part where you plug it into your computer was completely torn off and unusable. I can't even look at my files now.

This wouldn't be so much of a problem, but this was the flash drive where I saved _ALL_ of my writings. I had OC-related things on there, fan-fictions I never even posted (since I was too embarrassed to), and future chapters for this fan-fic written. Now that they are gone, I just can't write without feeling sad.

If you're worrying about me, please don't! I'm a bit sad, but a family member of mine said that they're going to buy a soldering kit and try to repair it. I'll be sure to update you all if it is _(or not)_ fixed.

 ** _Thank you for being patient with me._**

 ** _Your lazy writer, Kartara, signing off._**


End file.
